After Hamunaptra
by Lucretia Cyphus
Summary: In this fic, Evie and Jonathan's father is still alive, and living in their family manor outside of London. After he learns of their excavation at Hamunaptra, he excitedly calls them home to London as the British Museum is eager to see the artifacts they discovered. How do Rick and Evie handle their relationship among her upper class English family?
1. Going Home

Author's Note: I recently re-watched The Mummy and The Mummy Returns for purely nostalgic reasons awhile ago, along with re-watching some of Downton Abbey. I realized that the timelines converged, so the idea for this fic would not leave my head. Just a note, this is NOT a crossover with Downton. My head canon has always been that the big manor house must have been inherited from Evie's family because Rick and Evie never seemed the type to spend a fortune on a large estate.

Just a few notes: I realize that there are certain aspects of the main characters' family backgrounds that were revealed in works that are not these two films. I'm not following that as I've never read or seen anything beyond the three films (and as far as I'm concerned that third one doesn't count). So, if you're looking for that, you won't find it here, sorry.

Their final trip back from Hamunaptra took far longer than the second trip to get there, but Evie wasn't about to complain as it was also considerably more pleasant. Riding on a camel wrapped in the arms of a man she adored was infinitely better than being transported by a sandstorm with a three-thousand-year-old mummy intent on killing her to resurrect his girlfriend. And now, the boat ride up to Giza Port was far more relaxing than the original trip, considering there was no one after them this time.

Evie watched the river bank going by as she leaned on Rick's shoulder. He was running his hand through her curls and she relished the warmth of his body next to hers. Jonathan was off, probably drinking or joining yet another poker game. As the treasure they had found on one of the camels was safely locked in Evie's stateroom, she wasn't too worried about his whereabouts.

"We should be back in Cairo in a few hours," Rick murmured into her hair.

"Good," she replied. "It'll be nice to be home for a bit."

"Yeah," he said. "Will you go back to the Museum right away?"

"I think a bath is order first," she joked, turning to look at him. "But yes. With Dr. Bey being, well, gone, someone has to make sure everything's in order. And I still have to finish cleaning that library," she trailed off thinking of her enormous mess that still wasn't quite back to normal.

As she imagined going back to her life before the trip to Hamunaptra and what might change, a thought occurred to her.

"What about you?" she asked, curious. "What will you do when we get back?"

Rick gave a half shrug with a grimace.

"I hadn't gotten that far yet, to be honest" he admitted. "I didn't think I was getting out of prison alive."

"But, do you have somewhere to go?" Evie asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me," Rick said, squeezing her closer. "I'll figure something out, I always do."

Evie looked back out to the river, suddenly feeling rather sad at the idea of the end of this journey. Where would he go? If he couldn't find somewhere to stay or something to do, would he want to stay in Cairo? If he needed, or wanted, to leave, what would she do? She'd survive, no doubt. But the idea of living without him nearby was bringing tears to her eyes. They'd only just found each other.

Evie quickly came to the most obvious conclusion although she hesitated to voice it out loud for a moment. She wasn't sure if it was too presumptuous or forward, although she had learned that Rick didn't seem to mind her being a bit forward. In fact, he enjoyed it if their last night in the desert had been any indication. She blushed as she remembered the kisses she had given him while Jonathan had wandered away for a time.

That strengthened her resolve, although she still hesitated for another moment. There was the small problem that it would look somewhat improper from the outside. But then, it was also something easily explained. And what did she care? She didn't spend enough time with people who would actually care for it to matter much.

With that settled in her mind, Evie twisted around to face Rick.

"Come home with us," she said.

Rick raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"We have a spare room," she reminded him. "It wouldn't be any trouble for you to stay."

"Are you sure?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes, of course. There's plenty of room," she emphasized.

"You want us to live together?" he asked, still looking a bit surprised that she would suggest it. Evie had to admit that when he put it that way it did sound...scandalous. But Rick O'Connell didn't seem one to care about that.

"Well, at least until you can arrange something else," she said, although she didn't much like that idea when she said it out loud. "I mean, we have the room, and I certainly won't have you living on the streets of Cairo after everything you've done for us."

"It wouldn't be the first time," he said, but he now had a grin on his face so she knew he was starting to like the idea.

"If I have anything to say about it, the last time you did will be THE last time," she said, leaning up to kiss Rick. He responded eagerly, running his fingers through her hair.

"Oh, for God's sake!" Jonathan's voice rang out. "I leave you two alone for five minutes!"

Rick and Evie pulled apart, but only slightly, giving their companion annoyed looks. Jonathan ignored them and set down a few drinks as he sat down opposite them.

"Not long now though. We'll be home soon enough," Jonathan said. "O'Connell, where will you go once we get back to Cairo?"

"Home with us," Evie answered for him, grinning at the idea now that it was settled.

Jonathan nearly spit out his drink.

"I say, what?"

"Rick's coming home with us. For now, at least."

"Is that okay?" Rick asked. "Evie said there was an extra room," he added, sensing the man's true concern even if Evie didn't.

Jonathan looked like he wanted to object, but Evie glared at him, daring him to defy her wishes.

"Well, I suppose that's fine. I suppose we're not using that room for anything else."

Evie rolled her eyes and snuggled closer to Rick, who kissed her head.

She was chained so tight that her body felt like it was constantly stretching out. There was no way for her to move no matter how much she struggled against the binds. The most she could do was turn over and when she did she felt her heart nearly stop. Imhotep was next to her, a dagger in his hands. As he raised it over her heart, she found her voice and began to scream...

Evie shot up in bed, still screaming. After a moment she stopped, and simply breathed heavily instead. Realizing she was alone in her bedroom in Cairo, she put a hand to her chest and tried to slow her breathing.

She heard footsteps and then her door opened. Rick stepped in with a wide-eyed expression, looking like he was ready to start shooting something. When he saw there was no danger, he sighed in relief and asked,

"What's wrong? You screamed, are you okay?"

"I...I'm fine," she whispered in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry I woke you."

He moved towards her bed and sat down on the edge.

"Don't worry about me," he said. "What happened?"

"Nothing, it was just a dream.

"Evie, you're shaking," he said, reaching out for her shoulder.

"Am I?" she asked, surprised, although it became obvious as his hand steadied her body. Neither of them spoke for a moment and then Rick took her in his arms. She nearly protested but he was so warm that she couldn't help but snuggle into his chest. As he held her close, he kissed her head and rocked her for a few minutes.

"I keep seeing him," she admitted. Rick kissed her again, not needing to ask who she meant. "With the dagger over me. Or sometimes, trying to kill you before I can finish the incantation. Even though I know he's gone, I keep dreaming about him."

"So do I," Rick admitted.

"Do you?"

"Yes, I keep dreaming we got there too late and he'd sacrificed you."

Evie wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed him, as she had when they had been on the back of the camel in the desert. They sat there wrapped in each other for a bit and Evie's breathing eventually slowed down.

Rick wasn't sure how long he held her for until she fell asleep again, but he stayed awake just long enough to lay her down and cover with her blanket again. Then he moved over to the arm chair in her room and sat down to spend the rest of the night there.

The sun rose a few hours later, and Evie woke as she felt it warm her face. As she woke, she heard some soft snoring across the room. She sat up and turned to the source of the noise. She smiled when she saw Rick asleep in her arm chair.

Evie stood up and walked over to him. She gently shook his shoulder and whispered his name. He started and his eyes shot open, but she had a hand on him to stop him from getting up.

"Sorry," she whispered to him. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's morning."

After a moment his face took on a goofy grin.

"Well, the only thing that scares me Miss Carnahan, are your manners."

"Oh you," she said, laughing, and giving him a kiss. He pulled her into his lap and responded eagerly.

Suddenly the door burst open at the same time Jonathan called out,

"Evie! There's a telegram...what is this?!" he yelled when he saw them together.

"Jonathan, would it kill you to learn to knock?" Evie asked, exasperated.

"What is he doing in your room?" her brother asked. Rick rolled his eyes in response.

"I think a better question is, what are you doing in my room?" Evie asked her brother with an annoyed look on her face. "I believe you said something about a telegram."

Jonathan looked between them and seemed to be weighing whether or not it was worth telling them off some more. He decided it wasn't and just hoped that nothing had happened that he'd feel like killing the man for.

"Two actually. One from the British Museum in London, and another one from Papa." he said.

Evie quickly snatched the telegrams. She had called her father when they had arrived back in Cairo the week prior. Although she had left out the most exciting details, he had been thrilled to hear about the successful dig and the artifacts they'd recovered. He had mentioned that the British Museum would probably be interested in the artifacts, and they'd probably pay more for them than the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. On his advice she had written to them and this was the reply.

"The British Museum wants to see the artifacts!" she said, excitedly. "They want us to bring them to London and hear about the dig at Hamunaptra."

"What exactly can we tell them?" Rick asked. "Seems like Cairo forgot about what happened when Imhotep was here, but do we know that for sure?"

"I think we can probably tell them anything about the dig that doesn't involve resurrecting a corpse," Jonathan said. "Although we may have to leave out the stuff about the other Americans, or just pretend we have no idea what happened to them."

"It was a separate expedition," Evie pointed out. "And I don't know that it was sponsored by any particular historical or scholarly society so we may not be expected to know that much. Just don't mention them unless they ask us directly. No one has so far," Evie continued, putting that telegram aside. She picked up the second one and chuckled. "And Papa is already making the arrangements for all of us at the house."

"All of us?" Jonathan asked, and Rick cocked his head at her.

"Yes," she said, reading her father's telegram out loud. "'The museum will want to speak to all three of you about the dig. Stop. Please invite Mr. O'Connell to stay with us as well. Stop. I look forward to meeting him and seeing you both. Stop.' Well, that settles that," Evie said. "Oh, and he's booked our passage already. The ship leaves in two days!"

"So, we're going home?" Jonathan asked, looking delighted. After everything that had happened recently, Evie was sure he was ready for some time in comfortable English luxury.

"We're going home," Evie said. "We better start getting ready. We could be there for a few months if Papa decides to persuade us to stay for the summer."

With that, she shooed her brother and Rick out of her bedroom, so she could dress and start packing a suitcase, not noticing the look of trepidation on Rick's face as he left the room. As she was packing, she realized that in her haste to tell her father about the "successful" excavation, she had neglected to mention something far more important. Rick. She had not mentioned their relationship at all. But it was still so new and she wasn't sure how public he would want to be in England.

It wouldn't have been right, she reasoned with herself as she folded a few skirts and put them in her suit case. It wouldn't have been right to put Rick in a situation where he'd be put on the spot the moment he stepped foot off the boat without even asking him first.

They could discuss it on the journey, and decide together how, or if they should, tell her father and the rest of the family.


	2. Arrival

AN: Well, chapter two is finally here! Our heroes spend some time on the ship and arrive in England. This was getting a bit long so I had to cut it short, but I'm hoping to get chapter three out a lot faster and we can get into more of the meatier parts of the story!

CHAPTER TWO

After two days of non-stop preparations, Evie, Jonathan, and Rick boarded the ship to London.

"Well, here's home for the next week or so," Jonathan announced as they walked up into the first of their adjoining staterooms. "I hear soon we'll be able to travel by plane between Cairo and London."

"That would be lovely," Evie replied. "We could justify shorter visits if that were the case."

Rick didn't say a word, just looked around the rather luxurious room they'd walked into. He was used to staterooms involving bunk-beds and shared lavatories. This looked like a fancy hotel suite.

"Something wrong, O'Connell?"

"Nope," Rick said, snapping out of it, and putting the bags down.

"Well, guessing this one's ours, as it has two beds," Jonathan commented.

"So, I'm through there," Evie said, taking her luggage through the bathroom into the second bedroom.

"So, ah, where are we keeping the..?" Jonathan began to ask, but stopped as soon as Rick and Evie both turned to him with exasperated looks.

"They're with my things and that's where they will stay until we take them to the British Museum," Evie said firmly.

"And it's probably better if no one on board knows we have priceless artifacts in here," Rick said with a warning look.

Jonathan simply nodded and that was the end of the discussion. After the three of the had settled, the boat had pulled away from the dock and Jonathan decided to scope out the bar.

After she heard Jonathan leave, Evie went through the lavatory and found Rick still in the room, sitting on one of the beds. She smiled and went to sit next to him.

"Treasure safely hidden?" Rick asked, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Neither Jonathan nor anyone else will know where it is," Evie promised.

"Hmm, what hiding place did you find in there?" Rick asked.

"Well if I told you I'd have to kill you, darling. Too dangerous if too many know," Evie joked.

"Oh come on, you know you can trust me," he said, pecking her lips again.

"Of course, but what if they captured you and tortured you for the information?" she replied with a grin.

"Me?" he asked. "What about you? All they'd have to do is tickle you for a while," he teased, starting to poke at her sides where he had discovered she was ticklish. In proving his point, she started giggling and tried to retaliate but he quickly had her pinned down on the bed and kissed her again.

"See?" he said. "All they have to do is tickle you."

Evie smiled a bit coyly, then reached up and gave him a longer kiss. She moved her hands lower, and he responded in kind, enjoying caressing her hips for a moment, before she broke the kiss and gave him a triumphant look.

"And apparently all they'd have to do to you is kiss you," she said, holding up the wallet that she'd nicked from his back pocket.

Rick stopped for a moment, stunned. Then he couldn't help but laugh.

"Are all the Carnahans pick pockets?" he asked.

"Well, you can ask Papa about that if you want," Evie suggested, giving him a light push off her so she could sit up. They sat next to each other for a moment, but the silence quickly turned awkward, so Rick broke it.

"This was nice of him. Your father."

"What was?"

Rick cocked his head at her, surprised she'd ask.

"Rooms like these cost a small fortune. I was expecting to sleep below deck."

"Oh," Evie said, surprised as she caught on to what he meant. "Yes, he is very generous."

"Must be," Rick said, but she sensed something else was on his mind.

She was proven right at his next question.

"Does he know? About us?"

And there it was, the very conversation she'd been nervously avoiding.

"No," she answered honestly, then rushed to explain. "Not yet at least. It's just, when I called him, you and I hadn't really discussed...well, I suppose we hadn't discussed anything really. And I wasn't sure what you wanted."

Rick didn't answer, he just looked and felt awkward in the silence. Things had never been this awkward between them, not even when he'd nervously bequeathed her the stolen tools, or when she'd been in her soaking wet nightgown after they escaped from the fire on the barge.

"Should I have told him?" Evie asked, mostly to break the awkward silence.

"No no, you probably made the right decision," Rick hastened to assure her. But she just looked confused by that statement.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I just..." he fumbled over his words, then sighed and tried again. "I'm just not normally the guy a girl brings home to her dad."

He was nervous too. She almost kicked herself for not realizing it, he had been rather quiet during the preparations for the journey now that she thought of it. But the man had battled a mummy and won for goodness sake!

And yet here he was, nervous about meeting her father. She couldn't help but smile a bit, as it was rather sweet.

"You don't have to worry," Evie said, taking his hand. "Papa's very eager to meet you, you know."

"As someone who helped you out on a dig," Rick reminded her. "Or maybe as a friend of yours and your brother's. Not as your, boyfriend, or lover..." his voice trailed off at that and Evie felt herself go slightly pink at the word lover.

"Lover? Is that what you are?" she asked, shyly but smiling.

"I mean, if you want me to be," he said, leaning in to kiss her again.

She responded eagerly, her heart beat quickening as he pulled her closer. As his hands lowered, she broke the kiss for a moment.

"Maybe, maybe not quite yet," she said a bit breathlessly. She knew she had to say it before she did something she wasn't sure she wanted just yet.

"Okay," Rick said softly back. She kissed him again to let him know that she was still enjoying that and he moved his hands back to her waist.

Evie let Rick kiss her for a few more minutes, and then moved her head down to rest it on his chest. His arms surrounded her body and she breathed in his scent. Her breathing slowed, and she felt so warm and safe that she began to drift off. And she must have because it felt like no time at all that the sound of her brother's exasperated voice startled her.

"Oh for heaven's sake!"

Evie felt Rick jump at the same time, so she thought he must have also drifted off or fallen asleep. She sat up, trying not to obviously yawn, in case that gave Jonathan any more reason to think something had happened. She and Rick were both fully clothed, and on top of the covers so she didn't feel too guilty about her defiant stare.

Jonathan just rolled his eyes and put his bottle of whisky on the table as he sat down on the opposite bed.

"Look you two, just get all this out of your system before we get to London okay? Because I guarantee indignation and defiant looks won't work on Papa or Granny. In fact, if anyone else walked in on this, there would be hell to pay."

"Oh for goodness' sake Jonathan!" Evie responded indignantly. "It's not like anything sordid is going on, we're fully clothed for one!"

Jonathan took a breath before he spoke again, knowing his baby sister didn't respond well to being scolded anyway.

"Do you really think Papa would see it that way? His only daughter in a bed with a man who isn't her husband? Not exactly going to make him warm up to you O'Connell, I'll tell you that much."

"He's probably right about that," Rick admitted.

Evie hated when her brother was right, as it always made the universe feel out of balance. And Rick agreeing with him nearly made her head spin.

"Did you tell Papa that you're bringing home a beau Evie, or is he under the impression that O'Connell is just a friend of ours?" Jonathan asked.

"Not yet," Evie said. "Rick and I had just been discussing whether we should, actually."

"Well, if you want any privacy to go off and do the amount of kissing you've been doing, I'd hold off," Jonathan warned. "Everyone will watch you both like a hawk. England may have moved forward a little since the war, but not that much. Especially as you two aren't exactly conventional," he continued.

"Neither were Papa and Mama. And Papa's favorite stories to tell are describing everyone's reactions when he brought home his native Egyptian wife, so I hardly think he'd begrudge my choices," Evie argued.

"Men don't usually see things the same way when it comes to their daughters though," Rick said. "They'd rather their daughters be conventional."

"I've never known Papa to be such a hypocrite," Evie defended her father. "And I've never known him to be a snob."

"Considering his background, he's definitely not nearly the English snob he could be," Jonathan agreed. "All I'm saying Evie, is that you'll both probably be happier in the long run if you give Papa a chance to know O'Connell as our friend first."

Rick nodded in agreement.

"He's probably right Evelyn," Rick said, surprising himself.

"The world really will turn upside down if you two keep agreeing with each other," Evie said. Looking at Rick's earnest face, she nodded. "But I suppose it does make sense. And I certainly don't fancy the scrutiny we'd be under otherwise."

"That bad?" Rick asked. "It's not like we're teenagers."

"The English upper class sees all young women as teenagers until they're married," Jonathan said with an eye roll.

"Too true," Evie said in agreement, and just hoped they were making the right decision.

The rest of the journey to England was fairly uneventful, aside from a few arguments between the two men over who snores vs who talks in their sleep. Nevertheless, they were all thrilled when the ship finally docked in London, and they could walk on land again.

It took some time to get through the immigration line, and meet Mr. Carnahan's chauffeur, but they were finally on their way through the city.

"Is this your first time in London, O'Connell?" Jonathan asked when he saw Rick mostly staring out the window of the automobile.

"No, I passed through once on my way to France, but that was going on nine years ago now," Rick said as he continued looking out the window. "Doesn't seem like much has changed."

"Well, if there's one thing England tends to resist, it's change," Jonathan joked.

As they drove through the city, Evie pointed out the British Museum, where they'd be going soon to talk to the curators and sell the artifacts. They went past it and drove past old buildings and residences for a while until he began to notice more trees and grass than city sites.

"The estate lies a bit outside Greater London," Jonathan explained when he saw Rick looking a bit confused. "We should be there soon. "Gilbert, old boy, how much longer would you say?" he asked the chauffeur. "I'd say another thirty minutes or so," Gilbert replied from the front.

Gilbert had clearly made the trip multiple times in the past as he was right on the nose about the time. He turned onto what looked like a deserted road just about half an hour later.

"Here we are," Evie said, smiling as they traveled up the road.

Rick stared out the window, and was unable to stop his eyes widening at the site of the large manor house they were approaching. It was built of stone and looked like it could be a fancy hotel. There were several people were waiting for them outside.

"Looks like the whole reception committee came out," Jonathan said as the car slowed to a stop.

"Looks like a few new faces too," Evie commented as Gilbert came around to open the door. She was closest to the door, so she stepped out first, and her brother scooted out from behind her. Rick watched for a moment as the older man stepped forward to embrace both of his children. After she broke away, Evie turned back to the car, smiling, and beckoned him to come down from the car. Remembering himself, Rick stepped down and forward. The older man smiled warmly as he approached and Rick heard Evie's voice.

"Papa, this is Mr. O'Connell," she said.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you," Mr. Carnahan said as he reached out to shake Rick's hand enthusiastically. "My daughter says your help was invaluable during that excavation."

"Oh, it was," Jonathan said. "Honestly I think O'Connell's the only reason we made it back across the desert."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Rick said, a bit surprised by Jonathan's statement although there was certainly truth in it.

"I would," Evie agreed with her brother with a smile.

"Well my children are actually in agreement, so it must be true," Mr. Carnahan said with a smile, and there was some laughing even from the staff, although Rick saw a rather stern looking man look over the at the giggling maids who stopped immediately.

"You must all be tired from your journey," Mr. Carnahan continued. "Tom and Joseph can take the luggage upstairs, and dinner should be served in..."

"About an hour, sir," said the stern looking man.

"Wonderful, thank you Wilson" he said.

Two young men in uniforms stepped forward and began collecting their bags from the car. Mr. Carnahan turned around and began walking inside. Rick walked in behind Jonathan and Evie. He looked around as they moved through the foyer into a large main room. Rick kept his eyes neutral, but couldn't help looking around and seeing just how grand a house it was. One of the sofas alone was probably worth more than the entire flat he used to rent when he was living in Paris. The house he'd been sharing with Evie and Jonathan had been nicer than what he'd been used to, but nothing that indicated this level of wealth. Even the staterooms hadn't been a clue to this type of house.

He realized he hadn't been listening at all when Mr. Carnahan's voice suddenly penetrated his brain.

"Wilson, could you show Mr. O'Connell to his room, please?"

"Of course, right this way, sir," Wilson said, leading the way up the stairs. Jonathan and Evie walked up with them, although their paths separated at the top of the stairs.

"Down this corridor sir," Wilson said, as Evie gave Rick a small wave as she continued towards her own room.

One of the footmen was leaving Rick's bag in the bedroom when Wilson opened the door.

"Thank you, Joseph, that will be all," Wilson said to the younger man.

Rick gave the footman a nod on the way out, and he gave the American a curious look on his way out of the room.

"Is everything to your liking sir?" Wilson asked as Rick walked further into the room.

The room was spacious, with a fire place, four poster bed, and what looked like very comfortable chairs. There was a door that presumably led to a bathroom.

"Um, yeah, everything looks great. Thanks," Rick said. He wasn't used to dealing with servants, or anyone caring whether or not he was comfortable. He was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to give the man a tip or anything like that, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

"The bell is over there, if you require anything, just ring and one of the staff will answer."

"Okay, thank you," Rick said as Wilson turned to leave the room.

He walked around the room and took a breath as he looked at everything from the nice furniture to the figurines on the mantel. Some looked like replicas of Egyptian artifacts, some looked like they were from other countries, maybe Greece.

Since it was likely that they would be in England for some time, Rick took his few clothes and belongings out of his bag and put them in a dresser after changing his shirt. He sat down on the large bed, and was staring into the fireplace when there was a knock on the door.

"Um, come in," he said, turning turns the door, expecting to see one of the servants again.

It was Evie. She came inside, in a different dress than she'd worn on the ship and her hair was mostly loose again.

"Settling in?" she asked, smiling, and sitting on the bed next to him.

"There's not much to settle, I don't have that much stuff. Did Jonathan manage to unpack yet?"

"I'm sure he had the poor footman do it for him. Is the room alright?"

"Uh, yeah, it's great," Rick said. "Very...spacious."

"Is that a bad thing?" Evie asked.

"No, no," Rick said, quickly. "Not at all."

"It's just, you seem a bit...overwhelmed, I guess."

Rick shrugged his shoulders, unable to deny it completely.

"This is all just a bit...more than I was expecting I guess."

Evie looked down, as if a bit embarrassed. But she recovered quickly and took a deep breath while squeezing his hand.

"Well, tonight should be a relaxing evening. It will just be the four of us for dinner, and afterwards we can all get some sleep. I even told Papa not to expect us for breakfast tomorrow morning in case we all wanted a lie in," she said.

"That does sounds nice," Rick said, leaning over to peck her lips. The kiss deepened after a minute as he brought his hand to her shoulder. Evie started to respond by putting her arm around his waist. The sound of footsteps reminded her of where she was and she broke the kiss with a gasp.

"What?" Rick started to ask as she turned toward the door. The footsteps had stopped.

"Seriously you two?" An exasperated voice asked.

The footsteps had belonged to Jonathan. Evie sighed in relief, and Rick felt the tension leave his shoulders.

"You two are lucky it was me," he said.

"Yes," Evie admitted. "I suppose we are."

"Remember, the walls in this house have a lot of ears and eyes," Jonathan said. "The servants talk."

With that, her brother left the room and Evie stood up from the bed.

"So...does this mean we never get to be alone?" Rick asked.

"No," Evie said, walking to the doorway and looking out. The corridor was deserted. "But we'll have to be a bit more discreet than we just were. I don't know what I was thinking, I shouldn't have come to your room at all," she continued. "But the coast is clear for now, so let's go down."

They walked down the empty corridor and down the stairs, speaking now in even lower voices.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother hiding it, if it's this much work?" Rick questioned.

"If you want to be alone at all while we're staying here, we definitely shouldn't tell them," Evie said. "They'll constantly watch us, we'll never have a moment's peace.

"Seriously? Like we're teenagers or something?"

"Yes," she said. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, her father came around the corner. He smiled as he greeted them.

"Hello my dear," he said, coming over and kissing his daughter's cheek. "Mr. O'Connell, I hope you're finding everything comfortable."

"Very, thank you."

"Is your room alright darling?" he asked Evie as he began leading them towards the dining room.

"Yes, just as I remembered it."

"Good, good," he said, turning to them again. "Now, I know I said it would just be the four of us tonight, but your grandmother invited herself over. I was intending to have her come tomorrow, but she showed up, so now she's here."

Rick noticed Evie stiffen as she walked.

"Well, I suppose I'd better prepare myself for lots of questions," she said, her voice still cheerful but Rick could tell by the way it heightened slightly that she wasn't happy about this news.

"It'll be fine. I've already told her you all just got in and are tired from the journey, but you know how she is."

"I do," Evie said, slowing her walk slightly. Rick followed suit, concerned about the sudden change in her demeanor.

"I'm sorry," she whispered once her father was a few steps ahead of them.

"Why?"

"Because I promised you tonight would be a quiet and relaxing night. With her here, it will be anything but. Well, let's get this over with."

She led Rick into the parlour with the air of someone walking to the gallows. And Rick knew firsthand what that was like.


	3. Meeting Granny and a Visit to the Museum

AN: At long last, the real chapter three is finally here! Sadly I was unable to finish my Christmas fic in this verse, so I'm going to rework it and maybe save it for next year. I had to move unexpectedly (one of the joys of living in China) and then I got sick for New Years and after NYE I tend to lose the will to work on anything Christmas related. But I'm glad I can finally post the third chapter. The seeds for the plot get planted here and begin to start growing in the next chapter. Hopefully I can get that up sooner. I've finished my teaching job here and am going home to the US for a few weeks so I'll have lots more time to write.

CHAPTER THREE

An old woman was sitting in one of the larger chairs by the entrance. Jonathan was sitting on a chair, a finished drink glass clutched in his hand. He raised the glass in greeting as Evie and Rick walked in, his eyebrows rising in time with his glass.

"Hello Granny," Evie said quietly, approaching the old woman and leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Hello dear," the woman said kissing her granddaughter's cheek. "What on earth have you done with your hair?"

Rick saw Evie's jaw tighten slightly. Her hair was half loose in the same style the Egyptian women had put it in when she bought new clothes from them. He thought it looked beautiful but it seemed her grandmother did not agree by the upturned expression on her face.

"I decided to wear it loose tonight," Evie said in a guarded voice as her hand moved to touch her brown locks.

"Well I wish your father had told me tonight was such a casual affair. Perhaps I could have saved my maid so much trouble and simply wore my dressing gown. Even if we do have other company," she said, looking over towards Rick.

Jonathan stood up at that moment and spoke up.

"Granny, this is Mr. O'Connell. I'm sure Papa told you about our excavation with him," he said, gesturing to their companion.

"Ah yes, of course, the American," she said. "Pleasure to meet you," she continued.

"Likewise," Rick said with a half-smile, as he knew full well that was probably not the appropriate response. Evie's and Jonathan's lips turned up slightly, which told him he was right. But the old woman kept a straight face.

"Can I get you a drink O'Connell?" Jonathan asked, with a look that said 'you're going to need one.'

"Thank you," Rick said simply, and followed Evie to the chairs opposite her grandmother.

"Evie, would you like one?" Jonathan said with a pointed look at his sister.

Evie hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. Rick raised his eyebrows, unable to forget the one time he'd seen her drink scotch. As much as he enjoyed the memory of her wanting to kiss him but then passing out (which was disappointing), he wasn't sure that was something they should repeat in front of her family. Then again, she was unlikely to drink half the bottle this time.

Jonathan was handing his sister her drink when Mr. Carnahan walked back into the room, looking cautious.

"Sorry to be so long Mama," he said. "Have you all been catching up?" The question sounded like he knew the answer already.

"I was just inquiring about Evelyn's hair, as she appears to have taken on a new style."

Mr. Carnahan looked over to his daughter, and gave her an apologetic look.

"It looks lovely darling," he said, as he moved to make his own drink.

"Thank you, Papa," she said, softly.

Rick moved his hand almost automatically as he wanted to take hers and give it a squeeze, but as Mr. Carnahan quickly moved away from the drink cart to a chair, he remembered that was a bad idea.

"So, Evie's told me a bit about the excavation, but I want to hear exactly how you made it to Hamunaptra. Mr. O'Connell, Evie tells me you'd actually been there before?" he asked, eagerly.

"Um yes, a few years ago I came across it," Rick answered.

"How did you find it? I had never heard of an American excavation team finding it, and that would have been big news in the archaeological world."

"Well, I wouldn't call it an excavation," Rick admitted, not sure exactly how he wanted to explain this. He decided just to tell the bare minimum possible. "I was fighting in Libya a few years ago, and a few of the men in my garrison heard about the story of Hamunaptra from some locals."

"I didn't think the US Army had a presence in Libya right now," Mr. Carnahan remarked curiously.

Well this was going as planned...not.

"Um, I actually don't know if they do," Rick answered honestly. "I was fighting with the French Foreign Legion."

There may have been an awkward silence after this pronouncement, but thankfully Wilson came in at that moment to announce that dinner was ready to be served. The party of five moved into a large dining room with a dark brown and ornately decorated table. He waited until the others were seated and at first moved to sit next to Evie until he saw Jonathan gesturing to the seat next to him on the other side of the table. Rick walked around to sit there instead, and Evie gave him a small smile from across the table.

The two footmen went around the table serving the food, and Mrs. Carnahan started talking before her son could continue his own questions for their guest.

"Why were you in the French Foreign Legion?" she asked, sounding as suspicious as Rick would have expected. He couldn't really blame her. "Most people who end up there are European criminals. Seems odd for an American to end up with them, especially with a war so recent. I'm sure the US Army could have used you then. Why not serve with your own country? Unless they wouldn't allow you too?"

Rick took a breath as one of the footmen lowered a platter of potatoes to him, and he took the opportunity to serve himself instead of answer. Evie tried to speak up in his defense.

"Granny, really, that isn't a fair assumption," she protested.

"It's okay Evelyn," Rick said, now looking up and staring the old woman straight in the eye. "I was too young to enlist in the US Army until the Great War was over. I was in Paris when I was sixteen, and the legion wasn't nearly as concerned with proof of age. Especially then."

Mrs. Carnahan didn't seem to have a meaningful reply to that. Rick could see the servants in the background looking interested in his story, but he was not going to give more than he had to. Mr. Carnahan took his mother's moment of silence as an opportunity to go back to the original discussion.

"So, you were saying that your garrison heard the legends of Hamunaptra. What happened when that occurred?" he asked as he took some vegetables off a serving platter that a footman, whose name Rick thought was Tom, offered to him.

"Well, a few of them got really sucked into the idea and convinced many more to defy orders and march across the desert to find it and look for treasures. But, uh, we didn't find any treasure when we got there."

Mr. Carnahan nodded, and seemed to sense that whatever happened there wouldn't make for appropriate dinner conversation, at least not with his elderly mother present. He began to take the conversation in a slightly different direction.

"Evelyn did say you found an ancient key there that had a map inside?"

"Yes, I did find that in the sand as I left, but I didn't know what it was," Rick said, as a platter of meat was lowered before him. He took a few cuts and put them on his plate. "Evelyn was the one who figured out how to open it."

"And how did the three of you meet? Evie, I don't believe you mentioned that part?" he asked, turning to his daughter with a curious expression.

Evie met Rick's eyes and their gazes locked for an instant, before hers shifted to her brother's. This was not a part of the story that any of them wanted to tell. Surprisingly, Jonathan found an answer first.

"Well, that would be my doing actually," he said. Evie's eyebrows raised, and Rick turned to her brother, trying to keep his questions out of his eyes. The man did lie to everyone though, his own father probably wasn't an exception.

"I saw O'Connell at a casbah in Cairo, and saw him looking at the box. It looked like an interesting artifact so I asked him about it."

Rick nodded in what he hoped was a convincing manner. Evie was doing the same.

"When he told me how he found it, but didn't know what it was, I looked closer," Jonathan continued. "I admit, I wasn't really all that sure myself whether or not it was anything valuable. But I told him I thought my sister might be able to figure it out, so I suggested we go and ask her. Everything just sort of fell into place after that. Evie was able to open it and found the map that we could use to get to Hamunaptra."

Rick was rather impressed that Jonathan managed to stay close enough to the truth that someone would have to look really hard to find the parts he'd changed or left out. With the exception of Ardeth Bay, everyone who'd known the whole truth was dead, so that seemed unlikely.

"Yes," Evie nodded, smiling in agreement. "I was able to decipher the hieratics on the map, and thanks to Mr. O'Connell having already been there, we were actually able to find it fairly easily from there. Finding artifacts proved to be a bit more trying, but we got a good haul."

"I know Dr. Whitmore is really looking forward to seeing the artifacts when you meet with him on Monday," Mr. Carnahan said with a smile. "And I admit I would not say no to a preview myself."

"Well, I'm sure I can arrange that Papa," Evie grinned at her father. "Then again, I'm not sure they're quite King Tut's tomb, so you might be bored when you see them," she continued with a laugh.

"I doubt that. You managed to find a city that many weren't sure even actually existed. No matter what artifacts you managed to bring back, that's quite an achievement on its own."

As the conversation had gone in a direction where she had little to contribute, Mrs. Carnahan seemed to be getting bored, and tried finding a way to steer it back to things that she wanted to discuss.

"So, Evelyn, does this mean you're finally done with this phase you've been in?"

Rick saw that all three of the other Carnahans' faces had a different reaction to this statement. Evie's face froze and then she shut her eyes. Jonathan's eyes widened and he took a larger sip of his cocktail. Mr. Carnahan's eyes narrowed and he took a breath.

"Phase?" Evie said, opening her eyes, clearly trying to keep her voice calm. "What phase are you referring to Granny?"

"Apparently the one where you galivant off to a foreign country and hide in a museum library for three years," Mrs. Carnahan said, sharply.

"Mama, please…" Mr. Carnahan began, but his daughter's eyes narrowed and she started talking over him.

"It isn't a phase Granny. It's called my career," Evie said with just as much sharpness. "Yes, it's been going a bit slow, but this is what I've been working towards."

"And what then? You'll go back to Egypt just to keep running around dangerous ruins with strange men? Is that what you want your entire life to be?"

Rick resisted the urge to roll his eyes, although he saw that Evie was less successful. He wondered if the "strange men" was meant completely generally or if she was referring to him specifically.

"Well, why shouldn't it be?" Evie said. "I've had to work twice as hard as most people in this field, and it's just finally started paying off. Why would I stop now, when I'm just getting started?"

"Because you are fast approaching twenty-five, and you are soon going to run out of prospects," her grandmother admonished her. "You aren't getting any younger you know."

"Mama," Howard said with a warning tone in his voice.

"Well come on Howard, you know you've let this go on for far too long. It was one thing to indulge her fancies when she was a child, but she is an adult now, and it's beyond time she was settled. Unless of course you're planning on living down in that desert digging in those ruins until you go the same way as your mother?"

"Mama, enough!" Howard said, louder this time.

Evie merely shook her head, but Rick could see her eyes were welling a bit.

"Well, is that what you want for her?" Mrs. Carnahan challenged.

"To die in a plane crash? No, obviously not. But that had nothing to do with the work we were involved in," Howard said.

"I'm only concerned…"

"You're only concerned because your old-fashioned friends apparently take an invested interest in the fact that I'm twenty-three and unmarried," Evie snapped. "Don't pretend this is about anything else. This isn't about my mother, who you always made it very clear that you didn't like. It's always about you, and how you think everyone else should live their lives."

She pushed her chair back from the table, and stood up abruptly,

"I've had a long journey and I'm too tired for this nonsense, I'm going to bed."

She marched out of the room, and there was silence for a few moments afterward. Then Jonathan spoke.

"Honestly, I'm a bit tuckered myself, think I'll just have a night cap and head upstairs. O'Connell, care to join me?" He said as he stood up, giving Rick a 'get out now before it gets worse' look.

"I would," Rick said, quickly moving to follow Jonathan out of the dining room.

"Well, welcome to the Carnahan house," Jonathan quipped as they arrived back in the drawing room and he poured two glasses of sherry.

"Is this what dinners are always like? Because if it is, I'll make other arrangements," Rick said.

"Well, not if she doesn't turn up," Jonathan said, taking a sip of his drink. "And she isn't always that abrupt, at least not that quickly. But she is a piece of work, especially when it comes to Evie. She's always concerned that Evie isn't English enough or something because of how much like our mother she is. So, she was always worried about Evie's 'prospects' when it came to marriage and whatnot."

"She didn't worry about that with you? I mean, you two have the same parents."

"Perhaps when I was younger, but never to the same extent. Plus, Evie was the girl, so Granny had far more rigid expectations of her. Which is why she and our mother never got along. Granny never knew how to deal with having a daughter-in-law who'd so openly defy her," he paused to sip his drink. "We all lived here together until Grandfather died, then Papa inherited the estate and gave Granny a large house on the property. Things got more peaceful after that."

"I can imagine," Rick said, sipping on his own drink.

There were no sounds coming from the dining room, so Jonathan kept talking.

"I still remember one of their biggest fights from when I was very young. Evie was still a baby, so I couldn't have been more than five or six. But I remember the two of them practically shouting at each other because Granny overheard Mama speaking to Evie in Arabic instead of English."

"She was from Egypt, seems normal to me," Rick said.

"Yes, but Granny was convinced Evie would grow up confused speaking two different languages constantly. And that since she was born in England and would be raised in England, she should only be taught to speak English until she was old enough to learn French at school or something. The yelling between them was almost frightening, at least for a child to hear. But Mama didn't back down, insisted that she could speak to her children in whatever tongue she saw fit. And quite honestly, she was right, Evie speaks both languages just fine as an adult."

"She didn't do the same with you? Seems weird that it would be a second child argument."

"I was born fairly soon after Papa brought her to England for the first time, and I don't think she was as confident in defending herself back then. But eventually I learned just as well, so no real harm done."

Rick looked out the door to the staircase Evie had most likely taken to her room.

"And don't worry about Evie too much. She'll be alright," Jonathan said, knocking back the rest of his drink. "Old Mum hasn't let the old woman tear her to pieces yet, I doubt she'll start now. It's just been so long since she's had to deal with it up close."

Both of them were done with their drinks, and Jonathan began heading up the stairs.

"You're down there," he reminded Rick as they reached the second floor.

"Oh, right," Rick said, remembering he had to turn down a different corridor to his room.

"And stay in your own room," Jonathan said, with a fake stern look that quickly relaxed. "Honestly I say that for your own good."

"Don't worry, I get it," Rick said, although he really did want to at least check on Evie. But seeing a maid still on the floor finishing up her work reminded Rick that Evie would tell him the same thing.

He sighed and made his way to his room, resolving he'd check on her in the morning.

Over the next few days, things were thankfully far more pleasant at the Carnahan house as the old woman did not visit again. After a relaxing weekend at the estate, they went to the British Museum to talk to Mr. Carnahan's friend and colleague, Dr. Whitmore, who was curator of the Egyptian rooms there. Evie excitedly led the way inside the museum while Rick and Jonathan carried the bags that held the artifacts that they would be showing Dr. Whitmore. She was grinning at the place that had been her second home at the start of her career, even if it had been in the library. She smiled as they walked past some statues that were put on the stairways up to the offices.

A young secretary with her blond hair in a bun was sitting at a large desk, looking over what was probably an appointment book. She looked up and moved her glasses up her nose to see who was coming in.

"Evelyn Carnahan," she said, standing up and smiling.

"Hello Mary," Evie said, approaching the desk. "It's nice to see you again."

"When I saw your name on Dr. Whitmore's appointment list, I thought I was dreaming. When did you get back to London? You've been down in Egypt for..."

"Three years," Evie finished, smiling back. "But we came across something recently that brought us back."

"Well Dr. Whitmore's been keeping quiet, but I know he's looking forward to talking to you," Mary said, looking up at the other two people who had come in after Evie. "All of you of course, how are you Mr. Carnahan?"

"Doing well Mary, lovely to see you again," Jonathan held out his hand to shake the woman's hand. She looked up again and smiled wider at the one person she did not recognize.

"And who is this?" she asked, her eyebrows raised in admiration.

"Oh, Mary, this is Mr. O'Connell," Evie introduced their companion. "He was also involved in the dig. Mr. O'Connell, this is Mary Clarke, she's Dr. Whitmore's secretary."

"Pleasure," Mary said, eagerly shaking Rick's hand. A bit too eagerly for Evie's liking.

Rick either didn't notice, or chose to ignore it, and Mary quickly let her boss know his appointment had arrived and showed them inside the office.

Dr. Whitmore was a tall and wiry English man with hair that looked like it was probably ginger when he was young but had faded over the years. He smiled widely as they walked in and got up from behind his desk.

"Well what a day this is! The Carnahans are back in London at last!" he came over shook both Jonathan's and Evie's hands vigorously. "It's been far too long. I know your father is thrilled you're home for a while. And you must be Mr. O'Connell?" he asked, turning to Rick. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he continued, grasping the new comer's hand.

"Pleasure's mine," Rick answered.

"Come in, come in," Dr. Whitmore said, gesturing to the three chairs in front of his desk, inviting them to sit. "Please sit down, I want to hear all about what you discovered at the lost city."

They all sat down in front of his large desk, and Rick and Jonathan lifted the heavy bags onto it. The three of them had agreed upon the story of how they'd found city, so they started with the same story they had told Mr. Carnahan. Jonathan, the self-proclaimed liar, once again told how he and Rick met at the casbah and thought the 'puzzle box' might have some significance, and Rick told him where he had come across it. Rick told the truth about how he had originally made it to Hamunaptra, but they told a condensed and carefully edited version of how they got there the second time, leaving out the American expedition and the attack on the ship. Dr. Whitmore didn't ask any questions about that, so it seemed that no one in the archeological world had heard about the American treasure hunters.

If Dr. Whitmore was enthusiastic about their story, he was nearly rendered speechless when they began taking the golden artifacts that they found on their camel from their bags and laying them out on the desk.

"These pieces are…exquisite," Dr. Whitmore said as he examined each one carefully. "Most look to be 18th and 19th dynasty, but some seem like they could date back as far as…"

"17th or 16th dynasty," Evie finished, proud of herself. "That's a rough estimate from examining them on the trip back, at least."

"I believe your rough estimate is probably accurate," Dr. Whitmore said. "We'll have to have the old boys at Bembridge confirm it, but my money is on them coming to the same conclusion as you. And, speaking of money," he continued, taking a seat and writing something on a slip of paper.

Jonathan straightened up and tried not to look too excited when Dr. Whitmore showed them the paper.

"I can't say for certain until I speak to the board, but Id say this is a good estimate for what they'll offer you."

Jonathan sucked in a breath and looked like all his dreams had come true, while Evie looked pleasantly surprised. Rick's eyes widened in shock when he saw the number.

"Honestly, this is just the beginning," Dr. Whitmore said. "There will probably be further excavations, and the exhibit may travel for a while. These finds are really are priceless."

"But it is nice to see they do fetch this sort of price," Jonathan said, still looking enthralled at the number.

"Jonathan please!" Evie hissed like a mother scolding a naughty child. "It's not like that's the most important thing."

"Maybe not for you," Jonathan said, brushing his sister off. "I like seeing the fruits of my labors, thank you very much."

"As do I, so I can't blame you there," Dr. Whitmore agreed.

While they were talking, Rick was staring at the number, contemplating what that amount of money would actually mean for him. Even split three ways (which is what he presumed would be appropriate) his share was enough to…to basically change everything. For the first time since he'd left orphanage life as a teenager, he could afford to live a life that wasn't dependent on following military orders, or stealing. He'd never even thought of what else he might do, as he'd never really had much of a choice. But with this, he could buy property if he wanted, a house, a car. Heck, he could have more than one car if he felt like going nuts. He could even settle down if…

"Mr. O'Connell? Is everything alright?" Rick was brought back to reality by Dr. Whitmore's voice, and felt Evie's hand grasp his knee under the desk.

"Oh, yeah, absolutely," Rick answered. "That's uh…that's a lot of zeroes."

Jonathan snorted, and Evie elbowed her brother.

"From what I can see, it's certainly well earned," Dr. Whitmore replied, choosing to ignore the American's momentary awkwardness. "Well, I won't keep you any longer, but I'll contact you as soon as the board sees these and wants to plan the exhibition," he said, standing up.

They followed suit and he shook their hands before leading them out of the office and into the corridor. As they were about to separate, the older man suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back to them.

"Crikey, my daughter would have murdered me if I'd forgotten!" he said.

Rick was confused, as no daughter had been mentioned at all and how was one even relevant? But Evie knew exactly who the man was referring to.

"I've never known Sarah to be the murderous type," she said with a grin on her face. "I know I haven't seen her in a long time, but that would seem like a jump for her character."

"Well, I told her last night that you'd be here today, and since that left her no time to send you a note, she made me promise to tell you she'd be here this afternoon with her class."

"Class?" Jonathan asked. "She's not still a student, is she?"

"No, no, she got her teaching certificate, and she's been teaching primary school for the past year. Her students are touring the museum today and she hoped she might run into you. She's missed you."

"I've missed her too," Evie said. "If I don't catch her today, I'll be sure to arrange a meeting very soon."

"I know she's looking forward to it," Dr. Whitmore said. "Now, I really must dash, I have another meeting to attend to. Enjoy the rest of your day!"

With that, he was off. Jonathan turned to his companions.

"Well, Evie, I assume you'll go enjoy catching up with Sarah. I'm off to meet some of the old boys at the club. O'Connell, you want to tag along? We'll probably spend most of the time rehashing old war stories, so it'd be nice to have some new ones," Jonathan said, already knowing the answer.

"I think I'm good here, but thanks," Rick predictably responded, turning to smile at Evie.

"Well if you're sure," Jonathan smiled as he walked away towards the exit.

Evie and Rick walked in the other direction, through some of the galleries. Evie pointed out some of her favorite pieces along the way, including the famous Rosetta Stone.

They wandered a bit further into a room where there were lots of sarcophagi and mummies. Evie smiled as she saw a familiar ginger head with a group of children looking at it. The petite woman turned and her face lit up in a grin as she saw Evie.

"Hello Sarah," Evie said, smiling.

"Evie, it's so good to see you!"

The group of children in school uniforms she was with turned to look on with interest as their young teacher moved to embrace her old friend.

"I couldn't believe it when my father said you were coming back to London. And he said you made some major discovery while you were down in Egypt? You actually found a lost city?"

"Well that is what brought me back, yes," Evie said. "Your father was very excited to hear about the artifacts we recovered, so we brought them in today."

"That's amazing," Sarah said, but wasn't looking at Evie. Evie suddenly remembered that Rick was standing next to her.

"Oh sorry, where are my manners?" Evie said, laughing. "Sarah Whitmore, this is Mr. Richard O'Connell. He was actually the one who found out where the city was and led Jonathan and I there."

"Pleasure, Mr. O'Connell," Sarah said, holding out her hand.

"All mine," he said, shaking her hand.

"Are you an Egyptologist as well?" she asked, intrigued.

"Uh, no, not at all," he said. "Once we were there, Evelyn was in charge of everything. I mostly just dug where she told me too."

"Well, I wouldn't say all you did was dig," Evie said with a smile.

"Maybe not, but you're the expert. I barely knew anything real about mummies before that."

"Well, you definitely had the right teacher," Sarah said, grinning wider. "She once terrified my little brothers with a graphic, if very accurate, description of how they took out peoples' organs when they mummified them."

"Yes," Evie agreed with a slightly guilty smile. "Your mother was not pleased with me that day, if I recall."

"Well they did deserve it, they were being horrible little brats all day," Sarah laughed.

"They did completely ruin one of my favorite books," Evie agreed, speaking more to Rick to give some context. "I was angry, so I threatened to take out their brains with a red-hot poker from the fireplace if they didn't leave us alone."

"And then they went crying to Mummy of course. I mean, they were four, so that's not surprising," Sarah said, trying not to laugh too hard and attract the attention of her young students.

Rick couldn't help but laugh a little. But he did have one question.

"So, how old were you in this story?"

"Well," Sarah answered first. "I was nine, so you would have been eleven, right Evie?"

"Yes," Evie confirmed. "I remember my grandmother scolding my parents, telling them to monitor what I was reading from then on, but neither of them could stop laughing."

Rick was chuckling at the image of an eleven-year-old Evelyn Carnahan threatening small children with mummification. When he could speak, he turned to her and said,

"Good lord, remind me to never get on your bad side," he said, smiling at the woman who had stolen his heart.

"Well as you're unlikely to destroy my books by tearing them up and making spit balls with the paper, I think you're safe," Evie promised.

"I have definitely long since moved past my days of eating paper. If I ever did that at all..." he concluded.

Sarah was looking between Evie and Rick, a knowing smile starting to form on her face. Evie noticed and nearly panicked over how to answer if her friend insinuated anything or just blatantly asked. She was saved by the children.

"Miss Whitmore, how old is this one?" piped up a small girl with her brown hair in pigtails, who was gesturing at one of the mummies. She was among the children who had lost interest in her teacher's friends, and were staring at the different mummies nearby, but a few were still looking on in interest.

"How did they get them to look like this?" asked a dark-haired boy standing near the girl and looking at the same mummy.

Evie looked over at the case the girl was looking in and smiled as she saw the 4,000-year-old mummy inside the case. Sarah looked like she was about to answer, but then turned to Evie.

"Well, I have a friend here who can tell us all about that," Sarah said. She clapped her hands to get the attention of the rest of the children. "Children, attention please!" she called out in a slightly sharper, but not unkind voice.

The children all came over, curious as to what was happening.

"Children, this is Miss Carnahan, she is a very good friend of mine, and she is rather an expert on everything to do with mummies," Sarah told the children. "So, she can tell you all about how the mummies were made."

'That's an understatement,' Rick thought to himself, although it seemed enough to interest at least some of the children.

Once they had quieted down, Evie smiled as she began explaining the finer points on exactly how the Egyptians dealt with their dead. Rick chuckled as the children's eyes widened in amazement when she explained how they'd remove the heart and then the brain.

"Whoa! But wouldn't that hurt?" one of the boys asked, enthralled.

"Of course not!" The girl who'd asked the question said, rolling her eyes. "They're already dead, aren't they Miss?" she asked.

"Yes, you would already be dead when they would do this," Evie answered, and Rick could tell she was trying not to laugh out loud.

"See that's a legitimate question," Rick told her, smirking.

"Yes, it is," Evie remarked. "When the person asking is a child," she teased him.

"And so, they couldn't actually get up and walk around to eat people, right?" the same girl asked, looking at a different boy, who was larger with blond hair, with an annoyed face. Chances were good they'd been arguing about this before.

"Well, I don't know about eating people," Evie said, eyes raised at the thought. "But the Egyptians did have many curses and some were thought to wake the mummies up."

"See, I told you!" the bigger boy whispered to the girl.

"Jimmy, Linda, be quiet and listen," Sarah said to her students.

"But, Miss Whitmore, Jimmy keeps trying to tell everyone that at night all of the mummies leave their cases and walk around the museum," the girl named Linda said, exasperated.

"Well, how do we know they don't?" the boy named Jimmy said to defend himself.

"Well for one thing, we'd have an awful mess to clean up each morning, since they'd probably have to break through the glass if someone did wake them up," Evie explained, knocking on one of the thick glass cases containing several sarcophogi.

"And you'd need someone who can read the curses in the first place, if I recall?" Rick pretended to question, raising his eyebrows at Evie. "And only really smart people can learn how to do that."

"Well that leaves you out, Jimmy," the girl named Linda said, causing the rest of the children to laugh.

"Linda," Sarah said, looking like she was about to scold the little girl. But the boy took it upon himself to keep talking.

"Yeah well, it's not like a dumb girl like you could do it either," he spat, looking annoyed.

"I bet I could," Linda objected, glaring at him. "Couldn't I Miss Whitmore?"

Evie answered before Sarah had to.

"It would take you years of study, boy or girl," her eyes went to young Jimmy at that point. "But yes, you very well could learn it."

"Can you read them, then?" the first boy asked, eagerly.

"Yes, I can," Evie said, moving towards one of the stone slabs on display. She read a few lines, and Rick hoped there was no harm in reading these hieroglyphics. Most of the children looked impressed, but little Jimmy kept his arms crossed.

"How do we know that's not just fake gibberish?" he asked.

Rick was tempted to tell the kid to shut his mouth, but Evie spoke first.

"Well tell you what? If you choose to spend years studying the language, you can come back and check it for yourself, how's that?" she asked sweetly.

The boy seemed to consider this and didn't look quite so defiant, but also couldn't resist the urge to talk again.

"But nothing happened when you said it. It's not like you woke them up or anything," he said, pretending that he and others actually thought she'd wake up a mummy. Linda scoffed and the other children looked annoyed.

Rick decided to jump in this time.

"Hey, trust me, you don't want her to actually wake them up," Rick said to the obnoxious boy. The children turned to the tall man who'd been quiet up until now.

"Why not?" Jimmy asked, more nervously now.

Rick bent down so that he was eye level with the boy.

"Because she could not only wake them up, but she could tell them exactly who to go after. Which could be you if you annoyed her enough," Evie had to hold back a snort of laughter and Sarah simply put her hand over her mouth.

"And then when they found you," Rick continued, "they might tear you limb from limb, throw you around a bit, or use you as a sacrifice to return from the dead forever."

He demonstrated his point by making a few ripping motions with his hands, and the boy's eyes widened and his classmates looked enthralled. Linda in particular looked very satisfied.

"Should I stop him?" Evie whispered to Sarah, who had a hand over her mouth but it was hiding a laughing smile.

"No, it's okay," she whispered back, giggling. "Jimmy needs to be put in his place once in a while."

But Jimmy had one more idea up his sleeve.

"I could just shoot them dead again!" he said. "My dad showed me how to shoot."

Rick shook his head, still eye level.

"That might slow them down, but you need someone who can read these to really stop them. So, my advice, be friends with the smart ones."

He stood back up and Jimmy seemed to be lost for words at that.

"I've never seen Jimmy not have a comeback before," Sarah whispered to Evie. "Your friend might be a miracle worker."

Evie chuckled as Rick turned back to them.

Sarah checked her watch. "Oh goodness! As usual I'm behind schedule, so I'll have to move them along. But you should come for tea or something next week, so we can actually have a proper catch up."

"Yes, I will," Evie agreed.

Then Sarah raised her voice to speak to her students.

"Alright children, it's time to move on, and I'm sure Miss Carnahan and Mr. O'Connell have other things they need to do today. So, let's say thank you and goodbye now."

The children said their goodbyes enthusiastically as Sarah started to lead them further on their tour.

"So, who'd have thought you'd have such a way with children?" Evie said, smirking, as they walked in the opposite direction towards the museum exit.

"What?" Rick asked, feigning innocence. "Sometimes a small dose of fear is good for kids, 'Miss Threatened Four-Year-Olds with Brain Removal.'"

"I suppose he did rather deserve it," Evie agreed. "But I hope you didn't give him nightmares," she laughed.

"He'll get over it," Rick assured her. "My dad once told me our cellar was a portal to hell to keep me and my sister from playing down there. It lasted all of a week before we realized the noises were from the furnace."

Evie laughed as they reached the museum exit.

"It's still early in the day," she remarked, checking her watch once they were out on the big steps at the front. "Gilbert won't return for us until later. Do you want to walk around town for a few hours, maybe see some of the sites? It's been awhile since I played the tourist." Evie asked. "It's a nice day for a walk along the river at least."

"Sure, why not?" Rick said, taking her arm in his and walking down the stairs. He didn't have a particular interest in London's historical sites, but he'd found Evelyn Carnahan could make any old thing sound like a priceless treasure. And an afternoon with just the two of them could only be an afternoon well spent.


	4. Secrets and Surprises

Hello all! Glad I managed to get one more up before heading overseas again! I'll try to get one up every month, but as a I do so much traveling it might be hard. Hope you enjoy this latest installment, the plot is starting to take off now!

CHAPTER FOUR

Evie relished the feeling of the wind in her face as her horse galloped across the estate. She hadn't had much of an opportunity to ride a horse so freely in Egypt, so aside from the race to Hamunaptra on camels, she hadn't felt this type of bliss in years. At the moment it was a perfect remedy to the lack of sleep she'd been experiencing the past two nights, as Imhotep had found his way back into her dreams.

That race had one thing in common with this ride, and that was her companion. Rick was with her, on a different horse, galloping close to her. As the way in front of her was nothing but clear meadow, she turned her head and saw him grinning at her as their horses continued to run over the luscious green grass at the back of the estate.

"There's a pond not far from here," Evie called out to him. "We can stop there and let them have a drink."

"Okay," he agreed, then grinned at her. "Last one owes the first one a kiss?"

She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile.

"Isn't that the same result either way?" she asked.

"You got me," he said.

"You're incorrigible. But okay," she said, pushing her horse a bit more and refocusing on where they were going.

They were forced to slow down for trees as they got closer to the area where the pond was so it wound up being a draw on who actually reached it first. When they dismounted, Rick still approached her with his oh so charming grin, but Evie pretended to wave him off.

"Well there was no first or last," she said. "So, no one owes anyone a kiss."

Rick gave her his pretend annoyed look and took her hands in his when he reached her. He massaged them playfully for a moment and asked,

"Does that mean you don't want one?"

She tried keeping a straight face, but failed as giggles escaped her when she looked into his eyes.

"Oh, go on then," she said, and he happily obliged with a gentle kiss on her lips. After a moment, she moved away to remove the bag she had around her shoulder.

"What's that?" Rick asked, curiously.

"Lunch," she answered simply. "Nothing fancy, I just took some bread, cheese, and fruit from the kitchen before we left. Mrs. Rockland doesn't mind.

The horses moved toward the water of their own free will and began drinking and grazing from the surrounding grass. Evie found a spot on some large rocks that were far enough away from the water that they weren't wet, and soon they were sitting down and eating. Rick leaned back against the tree that was against the rocks and let the sun warm his face.

"I figured we could enjoy it while it lasts," Evie joked, turning her own face upwards. "It'll probably rain again soon."

"No surprise there," he said, his eyes closed, but smiling.

"I think I'd forgotten what it was like to not be hot," Evie said.

"Me too," Rick agreed. "I'm getting used to not sweating, but I don't think I'll mind when we go back."

Evie paused as she brought some bread and cheese to her mouth. They had been in England just about a week, she hoped he wasn't too restless already. She could be here awhile.

"Do you want to go back?" she asked. "Now, I mean? Have we bored you that quickly?" she giggled to try to cover her nerves.

He opened his eyes, and looked at her curiously.

"Trust me Evelyn, it's hard to be bored around you," he quipped. "Even when you're not waking the dead."

When she didn't laugh at that, he sat up.

"I mean, maybe I was wrong, but I assumed you'd want to get back into exploring and researching, so I did think we'd be going back to Egypt at some point."

Liking that he was saying "we," and for the moment ignoring the societal implications, Evie relaxed her shoulders when she answered.

"Oh, of course, no, I do want that, I'm just not sure how quickly it's going to happen. The museum is buying the artifacts, but they may want me…well actually they'll probably want all of us to do some press relations in regards to how we found them, because that could get more funding for further digs and excavations..." she said, stopping when she saw him looking concerned.

"Press? No one ever said anything about that," Rick said.

"Well, it is a big discovery, the archeological community is going to want to know more about it," she explained.

"So, what else will we have to do?" Rick asked, cautiously.

"I promise, it won't be that bad. They'll take pictures of the artifacts, maybe one or two of us, and the questions will mostly be about how we found the artifacts, and we've already agreed on how to tell that story. Jonathan and I can probably do most of the talking, if you really don't want to," she tried to reassure him as he leaned back against the tree.

Rick took a bite of bread and thought for a moment.

"So, how much do I have to pretend I fit in with scholars and…other fancy people types."

Evie snorted and had to cover her mouth so she didn't spit out the bit of fruit she was eating.

"Fancy people?" she asked.

"You know what I mean," Rick sighed, rolling his eyes a bit. "People like…people who are a lot richer and went to fancy schools."

"People like me?" Evie asked, her smile fading.

"No that's not…" Rick said. "People who might be a bit shocked that a poor ex-legionnaire is associated with this…major historical discovery."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Evie asked, taking his hand.

"Should I not be?" he asked.

Evie hesitated.

"Maybe. I'm sure some of them will find a way to be uppity, but honestly, they would do that no matter what. I'm betting many of them might simply be impressed that you managed to survive in the desert and then find your way back to the same spot later on. That's something most of them could never dream of doing."

She meant to go on but she suddenly yawned and put her hand up to her mouth.

"Oh, sorry. I must be a bit more tired than I realized," she said, trying to brush it off, but she yawned again right after and Rick's look turned to concerned.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I just…"

"Couldn't sleep?" he finished for her.

"Yes," she admitted. "The dreams have started again and last night I couldn't get back to sleep."

Rick pulled her a bit closer and kissed her head.

"I could try to sneak in if you want me to."

She cuddled a bit closer, feeling like she might fall asleep on him.

"It's too risky someone would see you. Even if they knew about us," she paused as she yawned again. "Even then, it would be too risky."

"Do you want to head back?" he asked. "Then you can lie down before dinner?"

She shook her head, leaning against him now.

"I think I'd rather stay here a bit longer," she said, relaxing against his warm body.

"Okay," he said, putting his arms around her and relishing the opportunity to hold her close for a bit.

They both dozed off for a short time, waking up only when the horses began to get agitated as it was getting close to a meal time for them and they clearly wanted to go home.

On her way downstairs later that evening, Evie met her father near the staircase. She smiled at him, but it faltered when she saw that he was giving her a strange look.

"Hello Papa," she said, cautiously.

"Hello darling," he said. "I need to ask you something."

"Oh?" Evie said, cocking her head at her father as she stopped when she reached him.

"Mason told me that you took two horses out today?"

Evie tried to keep her face neutral as she responded honestly.

"I did. Mr. O'Connell and I went for a ride around the estate," she said, deciding to get ahead of the situation so he wouldn't think she was deliberately hiding it.

"Alone?" her father asked, a surprised look in his eyes.

"Yes," Evie answered as though it should have been obvious, hoping he would buy it. "The poor man's been mostly staying here in the house since we arrived, unless we've been going into town, so I thought he'd enjoy going for a ride and getting some fresh air."

"Why didn't your brother go with you?" her father asked, still looking confused and possibly worried, but she wasn't sure.

"He was out today, I believe," Evie said, shrugging, starting to move down the stairs.

"Well I'll speak to him about that," Mr. Carnahan said as he walked with his daughter down to the main hall. "He shouldn't be leaving your guest to just you."

"Oh, it's not a problem, Papa," Evie said, trying to think fast. "He and I get on very well, I've rather enjoyed showing him around."

"I gathered that much, and he does seem like a good man. I feel bad I haven't had a chance to get to know him much better though," he admitted.

Evie saw that now he had more of a politely curious look on his face, as though he wanted to ask something more. It was an opening, Evie realized. And she was about to take advantage of it, and just come out with it, even though she would have to catch Rick before he saw her father.

But as she opened her mouth to make her confession, a familiar voice rang out through the main hall. Jonathan had apparently decided he would come home for dinner after all.

"Where did you go off to today?" Howard asked his son as Jonathan walked into view.

Clearly confused as to why his father was questioning him as if he was a teenager who had been caught sneaking in after curfew, Jonathan paused and tilted his head. Evie mouthed, 'sorry,' over Howard's head at her brother.

"I took lunch at the club," he answered, and that was the truth.

"Perhaps your guest would have also enjoyed lunch at the club?"

"My gue…oh O'Connell? I've gotten the impression from him that those types of clubs aren't really his cup of tea to be honest."

"Still, I don't know that you should be counting on your sister to solely entertain him," Mr. Carnahan said, sounding concerned, and slightly annoyed.

"No Papa," Evie said. "Really, there's no reason to be hard on Jonathan. I promise you, Rick takes no offense…" She heard her mistake a second too late.

"Rick?" her father asked, stopping and turning towards her.

"Yes," she said, firmly. "Rick. You know, we did work closely together while we were in Egypt. We spent enough time together, and so we've agreed to be on Christian name terms."

She was discouraged when her father frowned slightly at the idea.

"Is there any reason we shouldn't be?" she challenged her father.

"No. I suppose not. I just hadn't heard you say it before."

"Don't worry Papa, it's not like he calls her 'Evie.'" Jonathan quipped, rolling his eyes. "But I'll make sure he isn't feeling neglected. Perhaps we should invite him along on the hunt this weekend? He's a good shot, so I'm sure he'd be right in his element there."

Neither Evie nor their father answered for a moment, as Evie was surprised that her brother suggested it at all. She'd actually forgotten some of her father's and brother's friends were due to visit for a hunting excursion that weekend.

"Actually, that sounds like a splendid idea. If he likes shooting, he should have the opportunity. I'll ask him when he comes down," Howard said, starting to finally move towards the dining room as the servants were bustling faster to get their dinner out.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it," Evie said, looking up the stairs, looking to see if he was on his way down. He wasn't yet, so she turned to her brother, who was looking a bit annoyed with her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking around to make sure no one could hear her. "He heard that we went riding today and asked me why you didn't go with us, so I tried to brush it off."

"Well, if this is going to start reflecting on me, your boyfriend's going to have to start splitting his time better," Jonathan whispered back.

"Honestly, I almost came clean before you came in. Maybe I should just do it tonight," she fretted.

"Look, this is why I suggested Papa invite him to go on the hunt. O'Connell will be more comfortable with his guns on him, and it will give Papa a chance to get to know him. Then maybe he'll be more open to the idea. And in the meantime, O'Connell can separate himself from you and come out with me. I'll chat with him after dinner."

"I don't know if he's come down yet," Evie said, looking upstairs. "I'll go get him."

"No, I'll go, Papa's already suspicious. I can't wait until you two come clean now."

"Might I remind you that you were the one who suggested we keep it a secret?" Evie hissed as her brother moved towards the stairs.

Jonathan didn't have a chance to respond to that as a small female voice spoke up.

"Um, sorry to bother you," Jill, one of the housemaids said from a doorway near the stairs. "Mr. Carnahan was wondering where you got to. Mr. O'Connell is with him in the dining room."

"We'll be there straight away Jill, thank you," Evie told the girl, who nodded and turned away. "He must have been downstairs already," she said to Jonathan as they moved towards the dining room.

"Rather," Jonathan said, walking behind her.

Indeed, Rick was already sitting at the dining room table, talking to Howard. Both men looked fairly relaxed, so Evie let out a breath as she took a seat opposite Rick while Jonathan sat next to him.

"Looks like we'll have another man shooting with us on Saturday," Howard said, smiling.

"Glad to hear it. We can use a man with your aim, O'Connell," Jonathan said. "Those pheasants can be tricky little blighters. Worse than the foxes sometimes."

Evie was relieved to see that Rick didn't look about the idea and the conversation about the coming hunt was cheerful. She relaxed as she listened, but bit her lip as she knew she'd have to soon stop being a coward and tell her father the truth.

Two days later saw Evie and Rick back in a car on their way to the city. Bank drafts bearing the first payment for the artifacts had arrived for all three of them. Evie's had included a note, asking her to come in for a meeting as soon as possible. She had telephoned and Dr. Whitmore excitedly told her that one of the Bembridge scholars wanted to meet with her at her earliest convenience. As this was the meeting she'd been hoping for, her earliest convenience was immediately. Rick decided, given that they didn't know when they'd be leaving London, he may as well open a bank account so he could use the money he'd just made. Giving the excuse that it was easier to transport two people at once, they went into town together.

Rick still couldn't believe the amount that was written on the bank draft. There were almost too many possibilities to consider. He could buy a house, sure, but where? He supposed he could actually go back to America if he wanted to, but that didn't actually seem that appealing.

He looked up and saw that Evie was looking out the window, looking as excited as a small child on Christmas, and oblivious to her companion's internal dilemma. He found her smiles contagious though and couldn't help but give one in her direction. She must have seen him move out of the corner of her eye because she turned just as he did.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "You just seem so excited."

"I am. The Bembridge Scholars wouldn't ask to meet with me if it wasn't good news," she said, grinning widely. "They'd have no obligation to."

"Well, here's hoping for the best," he smiled back at her. He was tempted to give her a kiss, but there was no way to hide that type of affectionate display in the backseat of the car. Maybe his own car was his first order of business once his money was dealt with.

Gilbert pulled the car up to the museum entrance a short time later. Rick got out with her, as the bank Mr. Carnahan had recommended wasn't that far of a walk. Evie asked Gilbert to come back in the afternoon to take them home, as she wasn't sure how long her meeting would be. Rick stood with her while Gilbert drove away.

"Do you remember how Papa said to get there?" Evie asked before heading inside.

"Yeah, should be easy enough to find. I'll come back and wait for you when I'm finished."

"Alright, I'll see you soon," she said, making her way upstairs. She waded through the visitors in the main entryway and passed the exhibits to go up to Dr. Whitmore's office.

Mary Clarke showed her into Dr. Whitmore's office, and he immediately ushered her to sit down in front of his desk.

"I'm glad you could come on such short notice. When I spoke to the boys at Bembridge about your discoveries, Mr. Ramstead was eager to speak to you. He should be here at any moment."

"Thank you for arranging it," Evelyn said, sincerely. "Ramstead, I don't think I know that name?"

"I believe he's one of the younger ones. Not very young mind you, he's certainly at least a bit older than you, but he's probably moving up through the ranks there. But he has enough influence to arrange meeting with you."

Evie took a breath in.

"They've rejected me twice now, so I just hope this will be different."

"Did they say why the rejected you before?" Dr. Whitmore asked.

"They said I didn't have enough experience in the field."

"That's obviously changed. Many of them haven't had the experiences that you just had," Dr. Whitmore said, encouragingly.

There was a knock at the door and Mary Clarke poked her head into the office.

"Dr. Whitmore, Mr. Ramstead is here," she said.

"Please show him in," Dr. Whitmore said, as he and Evie both stood up to greet the scholar.

Mr. Ramstead was a tall, thin man with wire rimmed glasses and sandy colored hair. He smiled as he approached.

"Dr. Whitmore, lovely to see you again," he said, shaking his hand over the table.

"Absolutely my good man," Dr. Whitmore. "Allow me to introduce Miss Evelyn Carnahan. Miss Carnahan, Mr. Harold Ramstead."

"How do you do?" she asked, trying not to seem to eager, holding her hand out.

"Miss Carnahan, what a pleasure," he said, shaking her hand as they sat down. "I've been hearing about the discoveries you and your team made down in Egypt, and realized I recognized your name from your applications. I knew I had to speak to you about it, what a find! You actually found the City of the Dead?"

"Yes, we did," Evie said, relaxing. She was about to start re-telling the story of how when he asked her another question.

"And I heard that you might have come across the Book of the Living, and the Book of the Dead?" he asked.

"We did find them," she answered. "Unfortunately, due to some strange circumstances, we were unable to bring those back with us."

"Still, that's an amazing find. My colleagues will want to know, were they correct on the locations of the two books?"

Evie tried not to smile too widely at this, but she did want to gloat just a little.

"Well, yes and no. Your scholars have long believed from the old scrolls that the Book of Amun-Ra was buried beneath the statue of Anubis," she began explaining. Dr. Whitmore leaned in, as she had not spoken of this to him yet either.

"Yes, that's true."

"Well, it wasn't there. The Book of the Dead was actually beneath Anubis, and we had trouble locating the Book of Amun-Ra. But when I rechecked some of the stone tablets at the Museum of Antiquities, I realized that it was possible that the locations of the books had simply been mixed up. Scholars believed the Book of the Dead would most likely be buried in the statue of Horus. When we found that statue at Hamunaptra, we did locate the Book of Amun-Ra. Unfortunately, we had to leave before we could do a proper excavation, so we brought back what we could carry out," she explained.

"We'll be able to arrange for further excavations based on what you've brought back," he said, sounding excited at the prospect. "Are the artifacts available for viewing yet?" he turned to ask Dr. Whitmore.

"Not quite yet, but very soon. Perhaps I can arrange a preview before we open the exhibition though," Dr. Whitmore said.

"If possible, the old boys over there are dying to see them. Of course, when I tell them about their little mistake, they'll be a bit humbled I'm sure so they shouldn't be a bother. And I daresay, humbled enough to give your applications further consideration, Miss Carnahan. When I realized I recognized your name, I brought it to some of my superiors over there. They claimed lack of experience, but that clearly is not the case anymore. They're more impressed by this than they were of the work of Mr. Stuart Blackmer, who was the last to publish on Hamunaptra. Are you familiar with his work?"

Evie worked hard to keep her face neutral and Dr. Whitmore suddenly raised his eyebrows in concern at the mention of Stuart Blackmer.

"Uh, yes, I am very familiar with his work," Evie said, hoping this could be left at that.

"Well, if the old boys were willing to give him a grant to go off to New York and work with the Metropolitan Museum, I think they can give someone who actually helped find Hamunaptra a second look," he said, cheerfully, not noting any change in her demeanor. "I think he's back in London now actually," Mr. Ramstead continued as he stood up.

"Is he?" Dr. Whitmore asked. "I hadn't heard."

"I think so. Now, I'm sorry to dash out, but I have to be back in the office this afternoon. Miss Carnahan, I'll be in touch with you soon," he said, shaking her hand again.

"Thank you," she said, sincerely.

The two gentlemen said their goodbyes and Mr. Ramstead left the office.

"Well he seems lovely," Evie said, standing up.

"He is a very nice man," Dr. Whitmore said, moving to see her out. "And Evelyn, I want you to know that I had not heard that Mr. Blackmer was coming back to London, or I would have told your father to mention it to you."

She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. It's really no bother, I haven't seen or heard from him in years. And thank you, so much for arranging this. It's what I've been hoping for."

"Well, I may be a bit biased considering how long I've known you and your family, but I don't think any scholar is more deserving," he said, sincerely as he opened the door for her and sent her on her way.

Rick had thought opening his own bank account would be a bit more complicated, but it didn't actually take that long. His money was safe in the bank fairly quickly, aside from the small amount of cash he took out with him, and he knew he still had some time before Evie would be ready to leave the museum. He walked down the streets of London, back in the direction of the British Museum, pondering how he should pass the time when a glint from a shop window caught his eye. He looked back at the window and saw he was next to a jewelry shop. The glint he had seen was a ring displayed in the window.

There were actually several rings displayed in the window, and the one that caught his eye was not one that most would have noticed. It was a small, white gold band, with 5 very small diamonds in a row around the top of the band instead of one large centered diamond. There were other rings around it that had the larger stones and more intricate designs that were the popular ones of the day, but Rick barely noticed them. That one managed to stand out, and almost without knowing he was doing it, he walked inside the store to take a closer look.

"Good afternoon," the proprietor said kindly, looking up from his desk as the door opened.

"Afternoon," Rick said as he let the door close behind him.

"Are you looking for anything in particular today?" the older man asked as he came out from behind his desk.

"I just saw this ring and wanted to take a closer look."

"Certainly. This one?" he said, pointing to a larger and gaudier ring next to the one Rick had seen.

"No, that one," Rick pointed his finger a little closer.

"Oh yes," the jeweler said, picking it up gently and showing it to Rick. "This is a beautiful piece. A simple design but on the right woman, could be very stunning. For a special lady, I imagine?" he asked, smiling.

"She is very special," Rick admitted, holding the ring up and trying to imagine it on Evie's finger. He liked the imagine it invoked. "How much is it?"

The price was up there, but it wasn't as outrageous as Rick might have thought it would be. But if he hadn't had the money he now had to his name, he would never have considered it. He would not have even walked into the shop.

Over the years, Rick had learned to trust his instincts, and recent events had proven he was right to. And right now, they were screaming at him.

"I'll take it," he said.

The jeweler looked surprised.

"Are you sure? Would you like to see anything else first?"

"This is the one," Rick said, confident in his instincts. This ring was perfect.

The jeweler was not a man to risk a sale with further questions when a customer was decisive, so he got the ring ready for purchase.

"Best of luck," he told Rick as he left the shop with the black box tucked deep into his jacket pocket.

"Thank you," Rick said. He walked down the road towards the British Museum, feeling the box in his pocket every so often. He smiled when he felt it. Now, when to ask her? How? Where? Would she even say yes? The idea had crossed his mind briefly before but it was more real now. He knew he wanted to be with her and only her.

Evie walked out of Dr. Whitmore's office demurely although she felt giddy enough to skip down the corridor. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so on top of the world. To think her brother's pick pocketing habit had led her on a journey that seemed to have completely altered her life! Her career as a scholar was about to sky rocket it seemed, and she could finally kiss her days of being just the librarian behind. She couldn't even be bothered with worrying about the man Mr. Ramstead had mentioned, she was far too thrilled about what might be coming ahead.

Evie walked slower as she couldn't help but start glancing at some new research materials she'd brought in her bag. It would be a little while before she had told Rick to meet her anyway.

After nearly walking into one live person and one statue, she decided to stop in a stairwell that was empty. She leaned against the wall and began reading through the documents, not paying attention to any passersby until one addressed her directly.

"Evelyn? Is that you?" a man's voice that was too familiar rang out from behind her.

Startled, Evie gasped and dropped all the papers that were in her hands. They scattered and some fell down the stairs. She crouched down and scrambled to pick them up.

"I'm sorry, let me help you," the man said, getting down to grab some of the papers. "I didn't mean to startle you, I just wasn't expecting to see you."

"Likewise," Evie said, surprising herself at her use of Rick's phrase. "Last I'd heard, you had moved to New York," she said quickly, still trying to get her papers. Why was he here? Not just in London, but here, at the British Museum, when she was? Of all people she could have run into today…

As she picked up the last of the papers within easy reach, she also ran out of excuses to not look up.

Stuart Blackmer looked much the same as he had when she had last seen him. Mid range height with short dark hair and brown eyes, but with a few extra lines on his face perhaps. She hated to admit it, but he looked well.

He quickly went down the stairs to fetch the few of her papers that had escaped. As he walked back up with them, she forced herself to look into his face as he handed them to her. Decorum said she should thank him, but the words felt caught on her tongue. And she wasn't sure he'd deserve them anyway.

"When...when did you get back from Cairo?" he asked, curiously.

"Last week," she answered shortly, and began walking down the stairs.

"Of course, right. I only just got back myself, I was hoping they might have a place for me here," he said nervously, walking with her. She didn't look over at him as she spoke, hoping he would realize she didn't want to speak much to him. "I did hear about your excavation when I arrived. My friend knows someone at Bembridge who was talking about it. That's a huge achievement, you should be very proud."

"I am," she said simply, trying not to smirk. "Looks like all _my_ research was correct."

She saw him stiffen at the word "my," but he didn't respond to it. Instead, he just changed the subject.

"You're looking well," he said. "Egypt definitely agreed with you."

"It did," she said, refusing to respond to the compliment. She looked around as they approached the Museum's main cafe to see if Rick was anywhere to be seen. It was still earlier than she told him she'd be ready to leave, but maybe he'd arrived early. She was jerked away from her search for Rick at Stuart Blackmer's next question.

"Can I get you a cup of tea or something? I'd really love to hear about how you found the lost city."

Evie stopped in her tracks, and turned to him, unable to hide the surprise on her face.

"Stuart," she said, forcing herself to look him in the eye for the first time. She needed to make sure she was clear. "I meant what I said when we last spoke."

"Evie," he said, looking more than a bit awkward. "It's been three years, and I know..."

"Well my feelings haven't changed. I doubt they ever will. And you don't have the right to use that name anymore. It's Evelyn if you have to use my given name," she said, keeping her voice firm.

He lowered his eyes and nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She began to move away when he spoke again.

"For everything," he said with an almost pleading tone in his voice. "I mean it."

"I believe you," she said earnestly. She did believe he was sorry. "But it's too late."

At that moment she saw a familiar silhouette come around the corner from behind the man she did not want to talk to. Her face relaxed into a smile as Rick approached her.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" he asked as he approached her, barely noticing the man who was standing near her.

"Yes, let's go," she said. "Have a nice day, Mr. Blackmer," she continued, immediately moving quickly towards Rick. Evie had no intention of making introductions between these two men, so she quickly led Rick in the opposite direction that Stuart had been heading in.

"Who was he?" Rick asked as she led him towards the exit.

"Oh, him," she thought fast. "Oh, he's no one important. He's worked with the museum in the past and had a question about Hamunaptra. Just like everyone else, really."

She knew she was talking fast and prepared herself for more questions. But while he raised his eyebrows as though he could tell something was up, he didn't press her.

"So, did you get everything done that you needed to?" she asked, hoping to change the subject before he got too suspicious.

To her relief, Rick took the bait and told her about getting his money squared away. She was too lost in her own thoughts though to notice that he fiddled with his jacket pocket a bit more than normal.

She tried not to feel guilty, as she felt like she was lying to him. But it wasn't really a lie. Stuart Blackmer was those things. He did work with the museum in the past, and he wasn't anyone important to her now. And anything else was in the past and not relevant anymore.

Right?

Evie shook her head, telling herself she'd probably have to tell him more at some point. But she needed to decide how to broach the subject first. It wasn't something she wanted to tell Rick as they walked down the road to find a place to have lunch together.


	5. Nightmares and Half Truths

AN: Hope you all enjoy chapter five! We learn a bit more about Evie's past and she and Rick break the rules a bit. Plus, Howard and Rick get to have a chat. Next one should be up faster as I think it's about halfway done. But as I'm writing while traveling I can't promise, I'm afraid.

CHAPTER FIVE

Evie shot up in bed, sweating and breathing hard. It was dark so it took her a moment to remember where she was. She tried to take some calming breaths as she remembered she was in England, not Egypt, and that Imhotep was gone. While she was able to slow down her breathing, she was then unable to fall back asleep, and picked up an old novel to distract herself. She was half hoping it would put her back to sleep but the sun was coming up before she was even remotely drowsy again.

It had been like this for the past two nights already. Evie could barely get any sleep. She thought the nightmares had stopped, but it seemed that they were back with a vengeance. There were times she wondered if somehow Imhotep had found a way to torment her beyond the grave. Being this tired was quickly taking its' toll.

She rather reluctantly got dressed and went down for breakfast to see the men off on their hunting excursion before she headed out for the day. It made her happy to see Rick appear more relaxed as he checked his shot gun in the main hall. She smiled as she approached him.

"You decided on using your own gun, I see," she said. "I'm glad it's not your whole arsenal though."

"Not like I'm going into battle with these birds," he quipped as he looked up to grin at her. "I'm just glad your father didn't ask me to wear one of those top hats."

"Those are more for fox hunting anyway," Evie explained. "Although I'm sure you'd look very dashing in one," she whispered with a wink.

He shook his head, rolling his eyes. Rick gave her his small coy smile, and she was very tempted to give him a kiss. But footsteps coming from the corridor made her stop. Her father walked into the main hall. He looked ready and happy to be spending the day hunting pheasants.

"Good morning, darling," her father greeted her happily. "O'Connell, nearly ready? I think the others will be arriving shortly. I hope Jonathan got himself up, as several of them are his friends."

"He is, I saw him go outside a few minutes ago," Rick said, gesturing to the front of the house.

"Well I guess we should head out then," he said. "Evie, will we see you for dinner?"

"I imagine, although I am calling in on Sarah Whitmore so I could be there awhile. I'll send word if I won't be back in time," Evie promised.

"Oh good, give her my best. Her father's joining me here today," he said as he began walking towards the front doors. "And, it sounds like most of them have arrived, so let's head out, shall we?"

Rick followed Howard out, giving Evie a subtle wave. She returned it and went to finish getting ready for her own day out.

"Nice shot," Howard Carnahan said admiringly as Rick continued to have luck shooting the pheasants they were stalking. This was the fourth he'd manage to take down while most of the men had gotten one or two. "My son's description didn't quite do you justice I'm afraid, O'Connell. Did you learn in combat training, or before?" He asked, curious.

"I learned here and there when I was young," Rick said, trying to keep it vague as they kept walking.

"Was your father a hunter?" Howard asked, moving his rifle to continue hunting the birds. The two of them were in the middle of the pack, as Jonathan and his old school mates were up ahead of them, while Dr. Whitmore and another of Howard's old colleagues who'd turned up were lagging a bit behind. He wanted to chat with his guest a bit more so he had moved ahead of them to walk with the younger man.

"He did hunt, and he was good at it" Rick answered. "But he was gone before he could teach me very much. I learned mostly in combat training."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Howard said sincerely, right as Rick targeted another pheasant and shot it down.

"What did I tell you Papa?" Jonathan called back as he stayed behind a few of the younger men he'd gone to school with. "Man's got good aim."

"Yes, he does. You could have some competition if we decide to have a fox hunt," Howard told his son. "He was grand champion three times while he was at university, but I bet you could give him a run for his money, O'Connell," he said to Rick.

"He probably could," Jonathan nodded in agreement, as he walked faster to catch up to his friends.

"Seems like he'd wipe the floor with the lot of us," Dr. Whitmore said from behind them.

"No kidding," Rick said, trying not to sound too surprised at this, and slightly embarrassed by the praise.

"Yes, he was only eighteen the first time too. Everyone in the family was proud that day. Well except Evelyn, but that was because she was more concerned for the poor fox," he said with a chuckle. "My daughter's always loved animals."

"I noticed, she was even fond of the camels we had to ride to get to Hamunaptra," Rick remarked smiling at the memory of her calling the camels adorable. It certainly wasn't a description he would use for them.

"Yes, that sounds like her," Howard said, smiling. "Somethings never change, no matter how old she gets." His eyes smiled as he reminisced. "She was such a sweet girl when she was young. Well, maybe not always," he continued with a chuckle.

"Yeah," Rick said, remembering one story that suggested otherwise. "I did hear about one time where she threatened two boys with a red-hot poker up the nose."

Howard nearly dropped his rifle as he began laughing. Dr. Whitmore, who was walking close to them, also started laughing.

"Good God, I'd almost forgotten that!" Howard said.

"I can't forget it, my boys are still frightened of her to this day," Dr. Whitmore said, laughing. "Those two really ticked her off that day."

"I don't know how I could have forgotten it," Howard said to Rick. "I remember we were all sitting in your parlor, just having afternoon tea. It was the two of us and our wives. The children were supposed to be playing in the next room. Which they usually did quite nicely, I don't remember what went wrong that day."

"I think that was when our nanny had a family emergency and had to go home very quickly," Dr. Whitmore said. "So, there wasn't anyone to mind the boys except us. Mary asked the girls to mind them while we all had tea. They were disgruntled about it, but they agreed."

"That's right. And things were fine for a while. Or quiet at least. Then suddenly we all hear commotion coming from the other room, and the twins came running out into the parlor, crying in terror."

"They ran to their mother, shouting that Evie said she was going to tear their brains out with a hot poker," Howard continued, laughing at the memory.

"I remember the girls standing by the door, Sarah looking a bit guilty, and Evelyn looking rather defiant, holding up a damaged book. Such a little girl looking so sinister, I had to stop myself from laughing."

"Laila and I were both struggling to keep a straight face while we punished her when we got home. And that was strange for me because I'd never had to punish her before. She really was an easy-going child for the most part, but Lord help the ones who damaged her books," he said, laughing.

Rick was trying not to laugh too hard at the story, but Howard noticed.

"Don't feel bad for laughing, I laugh every time I remember it. It's a fun one to tell because not that many people who have met Evelyn would think of."

"I don't know," Rick said. "I think it fits well with everything I know about her."

Howard looked over at him, looking pleasantly surprised.

"Then you two got to know each other very well," Howard commented.

"I guess so," Rick said. "Lots of time to talk while riding through the desert. And does like to talk."

"That she does. If you let her, she's happy to talk about different topics all day. Her grandmother used to scold her for it, but I always found it endearing," Howard said, as he reloaded his gun. "I admit, I probably was a bit overindulgent with my daughter when she was growing up. My mother would probably say I spoiled her," Howard continued saying to the younger man as they went back to stalking the pheasants.

"Evelyn doesn't seem spoiled to me," Rick said, holding up his rifle as he spotted another bird. "Honestly, I wouldn't have even known she was rich just by talking to her."

"No, you probably wouldn't. She certainly takes far more pride in her own accomplishments than family legacy. As she should, especially with what she's managed to achieve at such a young age. She's a very special young woman to accomplish everything she has. Although perhaps that's just a father's pride talking," Howard said.

"No. She is very remarkable," Rick said as he shot down the pheasant he'd spotted. When he turned after the shot, he saw Howard looking at him with a curious expression. But all he said in reply was,

"Yes. Yes, she is," as they walked further along the wooded path.

They were quiet for a few minutes after that, back to focusing on the hunt. Or at least the two older men seemed to be. Rick couldn't help but think about how much Evie's father seemed to adore his daughter. Which wasn't a bad thing, the opposite really. But it meant he was also probably very protective of her. And protective fathers didn't tend to like men like him with their daughters. As nice as Howard was to him now, Rick wondered if he'd feel the same way when inevitably he learned the truth. Would he actually give his blessing for a man who had almost nothing to marry his daughter?

"We're in luck," Sarah said as one of her family's housemaids showed Evie into the parlor of the house. "Mama went out to call on one of her friends, and my brothers are off visiting some school friends until next week. So, we can catch up without interruptions," she continued, embracing her friend.

"That sounds lovely," Evie said, happy to see her friend. She was still tired but it was manageable.

"I love what you've done with your hair," Sarah commented as they moved further into the room. "When did you start leaving it loose like that?"

"Just recently. I got tired of putting it up every day, I guess. I still do when convention calls for it, but I didn't think you'd faint at the sight of my loose hair."

Sarah laughed.

"Goodness, has anyone?" she asked, as they both sat down on the settee.

"Well, Granny didn't exactly faint, but she did seem to think it was the equivalent of me turning up for dinner in nothing but my nightgown."

"Oh yes, I can just imagine her reaction," Sarah continued giggling. "I'm surprised you risked it with her, to be perfectly honest."

"I didn't actually think she would be there the first night we arrived," Evie explained. "But when she heard we would be home in time for dinner, I guess she decided to turn up."

"How nice of her," Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

"Perhaps if she were a more pleasant person," Evie stated.

"Of course. So, if you want, I can have them send us up some tea, or, and I think I already know your answer, we can go downstairs and see Sugar's puppies. She had another litter recently and they're darling."

Evie was never one to resist cute animals so they went downstairs and cooed over the six yellow lab puppies that were nearly old enough to leave their mother, but not quite yet, as Sarah explained.

"My students were all jealous when I told them I have puppies at home," she said, patting Sugar first and then picking one of her puppies up and then sitting on the sofa that was near the pen. She put an old blanket on her lap before setting the puppy down. Evie did the same, finding one that seemed eager for a cuddle.

"I'm sure they were. Are you keeping any of them or will they all be for sale, as usual?" Evie asked, as the puppy sniffed her.

"It sounds like Mama wants to sell all of them again. They're purebred so they bring in lots of money. Two of my students' parents have reserved one each, actually. But that still leaves four if you want that one," Sarah said, pointedly. "She's the sweetest of the lot."

"It's tempting," Evie said, as the puppy snuggled in her lap. "But I think Cleo would have a heart attack if I got a dog."

"I can imagine her being very put out," Sarah agreed. "Cats never like when their owners get new animals."

"She was put out enough by having to move back to England and get used to the big house again. Forget getting used to my having another pet. No matter how darling it is," she said, laughing softly as the puppy decided to stretch up and try to lick her face.

"Well, we're back to four that we have to sell then," Sarah said. "But I imagine you probably wouldn't want to take a dog back to Egypt with you? If you're going back that is?" she asked.

"I think so, eventually, I just don't know when. The Bembridge Scholars seem very interested in doing further digs," she started explaining her conversation with Mr. Ramstead.

"That's brilliant!" Sarah said happily when Evie finished her story. "Evie, that's all you've ever wanted since you were a little girl!"

"I know, I can't believe everything's finally falling into place."

"So, they'll send you back to do research in Egypt, you think?" Sarah asked.

"Possibly. They could have me based in London, I suppose. I don't think I'll know for a while."

"Would you be happy staying in London?" Sarah asked, looking hopeful but trying not to sound like it.

Evie raised her eyebrows in confusion as she stroked the puppy's head.

"I guess I hadn't thought much about it, but I'd still be doing the research I want to do. And it has been nice to be back, so I wouldn't be unhappy if they asked me to work from London."

Sarah smiled at that.

"And what about your friend there? Will he be staying in London for a while?" she asked, with a pointed look as well as her smile.

Evie was now trying to keep the puppy from climbing up her chest so she had an excuse not to answer right away.

"Sorry?" she said, looking up once the puppy was happy to be in her lap again.

"Oh, come on, you heard me," Sarah said, starting to grin wider. "You know, your very handsome and rather charming American friend. How long is he planning on staying in London?"

"He hasn't said," Evie said, which was the truth. Rick had not said how long he was going to stay.

"Seems a bit strange, for a guest who isn't family to have an indefinite stay."

"Well, we don't know how long the process everything with the museum will take," Evie said, hoping Sarah would be satisfied.

Sarah nodded, her smirk still on her face.

"Okay," she said, getting up to put the puppy she'd been holding back into the pen with its mother.

"What?" Evie asked.

"Nothing. You two just seem to get on very well," Sarah commented.

"We do," Evie agreed. "We get on very well," she gave the puppy one last squeeze before handing it back to Sarah.

"And he clearly enjoys spending time with you," Sarah said, as she put the puppy back in the pen before sitting down.

"Yes," Evie said. "We enjoy each other's company."

Sarah was giving her another pointed look now.

"What? Is that wrong?" Evie asked again.

"No, or course not," Sarah said. "I think it's wonderful that you have a…nice gentleman friend," she continued.

Evie snorted slightly.

"Not exactly the words I would have used to describe him."

"Well I don't know how else to describe it. You aren't really giving me much to go on," Sarah said.

"What do you mean?" Evie asked. "There's nothing for you to go on," she protested.

"Oh, come on Evie," Sarah said. "I saw how you two looked at each other at the museum. And he was so quick to jump to your defense."

"Well, that student of yours was being rather rude," Evie pointed out.

"Oh, he was," Sarah agreed. "And later he and three other students asked me if you and Mr. O'Connell were going to get married."

"What?" Evie asked incredulously.

"Yes. Even they saw how much he likes you," Sarah said.

This was headed into dangerous territory.

"That's ridiculous," Evie said, but she could feel her cheeks heating up. "They're children, that doesn't mean anything."

"Children can be very perceptive," Sarah said. "And come on, at the very least you can't tell me you don't find him handsome."

"Yes, I noticed he's a very handsome man," Evie conceded.

"And he definitely thinks highly of you," Sarah said.

Evie was about to respond but a voice suddenly came from the stairs.

"Sarah? What are you two doing down here?"

Evie and Sarah turned toward the stairs and stood up as they saw Sarah's mother. Mrs. Whitmore, an attractive fair-haired lady in her forties, stood at the top of the stairs, with a questioning look on her face.

"Oh, Mama, you're back already," Sarah said, standing up from her chair. "I brought Evie down to see Sugar's puppies, is all."

"Of course, hello Evelyn," she said, looking a bit abashed. "It's lovely to see you back in town."

"Thank you, Mrs. Whitmore, it's lovely to see you too," Evie said, sincerely as Mrs. Whitmore had been generally pleasant to her during her childhood.

"They laid out some tea for you upstairs, that's why I came looking for you when I got in," Mrs. Whitmore said.

"We were chatting and lost track of time," Sarah explained.

"Well, let's all go up now," Mrs. Whitmore said, leading the way back to their parlor.

When the three of them sat on the cozy armchairs while sipping tea and eating sandwiches, the subject again returned to Evelyn's career path, as Mrs. Whitmore had been filled in by her husband.

"Evelyn, my husband tells me that the Bembridge Scholars are showing some interest in you," Mrs. Whitmore said.

"Yes," Evelyn said, and quickly reiterated what she had told Sarah while they had been downstairs.

"Your father must be very proud," Mrs. Whitmore. "I'm sure your mother would be too if she were here."

"I know she'd be excited for me," Evie smiled, although it was bittersweet that she had to imagine her mother's reaction instead of see it. "It's taken awhile, but I'm finally where I've wanted to be."

"I know it's what she hoped for you," Mrs. Whitmore said encouragingly.

Evie smiled as she sipped her tea. Mrs. Whitmore then put her cup down and an awkward expression appeared on her face.

"My husband also mentioned that, apparently Mr. Blackmer is back in London as well," she said cautiously.

Sarah's eyes widened as she heard this and looked to her friend in concern.

"Um, yes, I'm aware he's in town," Evie said, hoping Mrs. Whitmore didn't also somehow know about their brief meeting. She wasn't even ready to go into it with Sarah either, no matter how long they'd been friends.

"What?" Sarah asked, surprised. "You never said!"

"It's really not of any consequence to me at this point," Evie explained. "It's been over three years now since we ended our engagement. I've moved on, I'm sure he has too."

"Even so," Sarah said. "I know I'd feel awkward running into him if it were me."

"No doubt, it would be awkward. But I'll handle it if I have to."

"Your parents never really said why you called off your wedding," Mrs. Whitmore said.

Evie sighed, she'd forgotten that as nice as Mrs. Whitmore could be, she did enjoy her gossip. Evie always thought that it was because she had no occupation and her children were now grown or nearly grown. She gave the same answer she'd given everyone else before. Except her mother, who'd known the full details.

"I just realized that we weren't as compatible as I had thought we were. I know a lot of people thought I just go cold feet, but honestly, I'm glad I ended it. He and I would not have been happy if we'd actually gone through with the wedding."

Sarah and her mother both looked like they wanted to ask more, so Evie quickly moved on with,

"I hope he's found someone else who he can be happier with," Evie said, although in reality she didn't much care.

"Well," Mrs. Whitmore said. "I hope you find someone who you can be happy with. I'd hate to see you alone as you get older."

"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be," Evie said, wanting this conversation to end before Sarah got anymore ideas about Rick. She quickly picked up her teacup to drink again.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," Mrs. Whitmore said, looking down at her own cup abashedly. "It's the mother in me. I promise, I annoy Sarah all the time because I ask her about nice young men. I just want you both to find men who will make you happy."

"It's true," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. "Every event we go to now, she makes sure I'm introduced to all the single and eligible young men."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Mrs. Whitmore protested.

"Mama, I love you dearly but a few times you've been as bad as Mrs. Bennett at Netherfield."

Evie laughed at this image, while Sarah continued to tease her mother.

"I mean, I did hear that you have a bachelor staying at your house," Mrs. Whitmore said, laughing as she said it. "So, don't be surprised if I scout him out if he's still there the next time we visit."

"Just make sure he's not already spoken for Mama," Sarah said, also laughing, turning towards Evie. "Remember you nearly tried to set me up with a man who was already engaged."

"Well I'm sure Evelyn can tell me that," Mrs. Whitmore said. It was clear from her tone that she was at least half joking so Evie wasn't bothered by the insinuation she'd scout Rick as a suitable match for her daughter (or Evie herself). But she still froze at the question. "Is he attached to anyone that you know of, dear?"

"Um," she inwardly cursed her inability to just go along with the joking when it got personal. "I uh, don't know. He hasn't said anything about it."

She hated lying, and she was horrid at it. But thankfully Mrs. Whitmore didn't press her, possibly sensing her discomfort.

"Well, don't worry dear, I'll behave if my path crosses his, I promise," Mrs. Whitmore said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to scare poor Mr. O'Connell off," Sarah said, still laughing but watching Evie's reaction.

"He's a tough sort, I wouldn't worry about that," Evie said, allowing herself to laugh at the idea of Mrs. Whitmore trying to push Rick towards someone. His reaction would probably be funny…

Out of the corner of her eye, Evie noticed a maid hanging out by the doorway, looking like she was dusting in the corridor, but clearly hanging onto the conversation as she was going far too slowly. Evie couldn't help but wonder just how long she'd been out there.

As she turned back, Evie felt a yawn overtake her and the day seemed to catch up to her. Or rather, her lack of sleep from her nightmares.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, putting her tea cup down on the table.

"Are you alright dear?" Mrs. Whitmore asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," Evie said. "It's just been a busy week."

"Sounds like it," Sarah said.

"Well, if you need to rest, we can have Rutherford drive you home," Mrs. Whitmore offered.

Evie was about to protest that it wasn't necessary, but another yawn betrayed her. At that, both Sarah and her mother started insisting that she should go home and get some rest. Evie was slightly embarrassed by this, but had to admit to herself that she really needed some sleep. Her nightmares really were catching up to her, and her one remedy, Rick, was forced to sleep miles away from her thanks to social conventions being what they were.

She was hoping the men would still be off on their hunting excursion and she'd have time to lie down before dinner, but they got back around the same time thanks to traffic in the city. This meant that she wouldn't have much time before dinner was served for the ones who were staying (which were only a few) as their baths and changing would take no more than an hour.

She managed to find a bit of a second wind and decided to just try to stay up through dinner and then she could try to go to bed.

This seemed like a good plan until Evie yawned for what felt like the thousandth time that day. She could also barely focus on what anyone was saying, and she must have nearly dozed off because suddenly she heard her father sounding concerned next to her.

"Evie dear, are you unwell?" he said, causing her to startle a bit.

"Um, no, I'm fine. Just a bit tired," she answered. She looked across the table and met Rick's eyes. He looked at her worriedly, mouthing 'are you okay?' as discreetly as he was able. She nodded quickly.

"Well it's no wonder," her father said, kindly. "You've hardly stopped since you left Cairo, being on the ship, dealing with the museum and the old boys from Bembridge, and then coming here and seeing everyone. It would exhaust anyone."

"Yes, that must be it," Evie said, still looking across at Rick. Rick raised his eyebrows, and she could tell that he knew she wasn't being truthful.

She knew it was no good pretending with him. He knew something was wrong, but she gave him a look to tell him not to ask in front of the others.

While everyone congregated in the drawing room after dinner, she was able to talk to him quietly.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I'm alright, Rick," she began, but then stopped as another yawn hit her.

"Evelyn, you're exhausted," Rick said.

"Yes," she sighed in agreement.

"Is it the dreams again?"

"No," she said, defensively. He raised his eyebrows and she relented. "Yes," she said.

"Let me help," he asked, concerned. "Let me come to you."

"You can't," Evie whispered more harshly than she meant to.

"I wish you could," Evie continued softer, wanting him to understand. "But in this house, it's too risky someone would see you. And, you know, get the wrong idea."

Rick sighed and gave her a frustrated look.

"I know."

"I think I'll go to bed now," she said, moving towards the front of the room. "We'll see if tonight's any better."

"I can walk you up," Rick offered.

"You better not," Evie whispered, but smiling at him. "As much as I would like that, they'll ask too many questions."

Rick sighed as he watched Evie bid the rest of the family good night. She headed up the stairs, trying hard to keep her eyes open on the walk up. Part of her really wished she could have let Rick come up with her. If nothing else, he might have carried her and given her an excuse to snuggle with him for a few minutes.

The night didn't start off well. Tired as she was, Evie tossed and turned in her bed for at least an hour before finally drifting off.

Merely a few hours later, she sat up in bed gasping for breath. She had screamed in her dream, and as she remembered where she was, really hoped she hadn't screamed out loud this time.

Evie breathed deeply for a few minutes and leaned back against her pillows. She shivered as she looked around her dark bedroom. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it was too dark to be sure. The shadows that had never bothered her in the past seemed threatening.

Evie moved back under her blankets and tried to go back to sleep. But her mind was on a fast track and Imhotep's face kept looming in. She could smell his rotten breath, and almost feel his decaying mouth trying to kiss her and heart rate sped up in a way that made her feel sick.

She lay there for a few minutes, her anxiety getting worse as her eyelids grew heavier. She just wanted to sleep. She needed sleep. And she wanted Rick.

Before she'd finished the thought, Evie had found the stamina to push herself from her bed and walk out into the hall. It was late enough that all the lights were out, but that was all she could tell. Taking a deep breath, she walked as quickly and quietly as she could towards the bachelor's corridor. It took her a few minutes to walk there, and she berated herself for doing exactly what she had ordered Rick not to do.

She saw light coming from under the door and realized Rick must still be awake. After a moment's hesitation she pushed down the handle and walked into the room.

Rick looked up from the bed with a surprised expression.

"Evelyn? What's going on?"

"Well..." she began, suddenly shy. "It's just...you asked if you could help, and I know I said you shouldn't come, but then..."

As she was talking, Rick had stood up and walked over to her. Evie tried not to focus on his state of undress, as he was only wearing undergarments. She leaned into him and breathed in his scent as he embraced her. After a moment, she felt herself already calming down. Rick kept one arm around her as he began leading her to the bed.

"You should lie down," he said, pulling back the covers for her.

"Okay," she whispered, her exhaustion beginning to take over now that she felt safer. She lay down on the bed and let Rick cover her with the blankets. When he moved as if to sit in the chair next to the bed, she pulled on his hand lightly.

Rick looked at her, curiously.

"I want..." she began, then yawned, but this strengthened her resolve. "I want you to hold me. Like you did when we were in the desert."

"Okay," he whispered, moving back to the bed. She moved aside to let him under the covers and snuggled against him once he was under there. He immediately put his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He stroked her hair and waited for her breathing to even out.

Evie felt herself drifting off quickly and was ready to give herself over to the calmer sleep she was anticipating. She just had to make sure of one thing.

"Before seven," she murmured into Rick's chest.

"Hmm?" he grunted.

"The servants finish their breakfast and come upstairs around seven. I have to go back to my room before that."

"Okay," Rick said, continuing to smooth her hair as her breathing continued to slow. Feeling comforted himself by the weight of her lying on his chest, he also soon drifted off.

The sunlight came in through the curtains early in the morning. Rick opened his eyes and turned to see Evie lying next to him, a peaceful look on her face. He smiled and moved to stroke her hair for a moment. Remembering what she said, he turned over and looked at the clock in the room. It was half past six.

He sighed. It seemed like a crime to wake her up when she looked so comfortable. And if he was honest, with the rain, it felt like a good day to just stay in bed, curled up with her. Chastely for now of course, but he only minded that a little.

If they'd been alone in Cairo, it might have even been an option. But here...well, he'd have to wake her up so she could go back.

"Evelyn," he whispered, lightly shaking her shoulder. "Evelyn, it's half past six."

She stirred for a moment and opened her eyes. She smiled when her eyes met his.

"Good morning," she whispered, pushing herself up on her arm.

"Good morning," he whispered back, leaning in to kiss her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked when he pulled back.

"Good," she said, and she did indeed feel better than she had in days. "I just wish it could have lasted a bit longer."

"Me too," he said, leaning in to kiss her again. She responded eagerly, her hands moving around his neck to pull him in closer.

"Half past six?" she asked when she pulled away from his lips.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Well, I better get back before the servants come upstairs. Will you come down for breakfast today?"

"Sure," he said, kissing her one more time as she got up from the bed.

"Then I'll see you soon," she said as she peeked out into the corridor. When she saw the coast was clear, she started tip toeing down back towards her room. She fell back into her own bed, satisfied she'd gotten back unseen.

She was wrong. The scullery maid had come up to get started on the fires a bit early. She saw Evie go around the corner to go back to her room. The maid wasn't sure exactly why Miss Carnahan would be wandering around in her nightgown so early in the morning. And why exactly would she have been down that corridor?


	6. Revelations and Conversations

This chapter is a bit of a behemoth, it's over 10,000 words! Hope you all enjoy it!

CHAPTER SIX

Over the next few days Evie's nightmares didn't return, and she was grateful. Although she could admit to herself that she genuinely liked sleeping next to Rick, it wasn't something she could count on being able to do all the time. Nothing had been said to her, so as far as she was concerned no one knew that she had gone to his room that night, but her luck would run out eventually.

Being next to him all night was something she'd realized she could quickly get addicted to. She would have liked nothing more to spend the entire day in bed with him. She would find herself blushing as she imagined how much kissing, touching, and…she scolded herself inwardly as she put down the book she was reading in her father's library. When had she become so wanton, wanting things so improper?

But it had been so nice, lying next to him, and she did love it when he kissed her. Was it so wrong to want more? To want to touch him or…

"Oh, stop it you!" she hissed to herself, frustrated that she kept thinking about these things. She probably needed a different distraction.

"Stop what?" she heard her father's voice from the doorway and jumped.

"Oh God Papa, you startled me!"

"Sorry dear. Are you alright?"

"Yes, just, distracted I guess," she said, hoping her face wasn't red. She certainly wasn't going to tell her father what had actually been distracting her.

"I've been there. Have you heard anything more from Mr. Ramstead? Or Dr. Whitmore about the exhibition?" he asked, coming into the room and standing closer to her.

Grateful the conversation had turned to something she could discuss with him, Evie answered,

"No, not yet, but I think I'll wait until next week before I get worried. I'm trying to remind myself that patience is a virtue," she laughed, especially remembering how Rick had responded the last time she'd said something like that. Of course, their circumstances had been much more dire that night.

"Well, Whitmore said he and his family will be coming to your grandmother's garden party this weekend, so he might have some news for you then."

"Oh god that's this weekend isn't it?" Evie said. "I know it was mentioned, but I'd forgotten."

"So, the next few days will be a bit more chaotic. Also, just so you know, your grandmother will have dinner here tonight and probably a few nights before the party so she can oversee that everything's done to her liking."

Evie sighed in annoyance.

"Well, I'll just have to make sure I look to her liking as well," she said, standing up with the intent of going to take care of that.

"Don't worry, she'll have more on her mind than your hair this time," her father said, reaching towards her and touching her loose curly locks affectionately.

Evie smiled at her father.

"Well, I better put it up, just in case. Let's not tempt the wolves," she said, moving past him to leave the room.

"No, always better not to," he agreed, smiling at her as she started to leave to go do her hair. "Oh, Evie darling, there was something else I've been meaning to talk to you about?" he continued, causing her to stop her exodus.

"Oh?" she asked.

"I've heard that Stuart Blackmer is back in London. Whitmore said you knew about it from talking to Mr. Ramstead."

"Oh, that. Yes, he did mention Stuart was in town. No details but I don't really need them," she answered honestly.

"And are you alright? With him being in town, I mean?"

"I can't exactly ban him from London, can I?" she tried to joke. "Honestly, it's been three years, I'm fine now."

"You're sure?" he asked, still looking concerned. "Because, you never really told me what happened between you two."

Evie nodded. She still didn't feel like she could tell him what had happened.

"It really doesn't matter anymore Papa. I've moved on, I'm sure he has too, so all's well."

"You just ended it so suddenly and your mother seemed very glad you had, but she never did tell me why."

It was obvious he was hoping she might tell him now, and part of her wanted to. He had liked Stuart well enough and had been surprised when she called off her wedding. But…she just couldn't. She couldn't tell him how stupid she'd been. Not when he was always so proud of her.

"You don't need to worry about it, Papa. I promise. Now, I'd better get upstairs to fix myself up before Granny arrives."

She turned quickly, before he could try to ask her anymore questions.

Dinner with Granny started pleasantly enough. She was polite to Rick, although she did inquire as to how long he was staying in the house. But she accepted the explanations regarding the time it would take to open up the exhibition and the subsequent press relations as reason enough. She even reacted to Evie's news about what was going on at the museum and her interview with a Bembridge scholar with something akin to interest.

Later, Evie would want to hit herself for not realizing she was being lulled into a false sense of security. Because then Granny brought up what she actually wanted to talk about.

"You had another meeting at the museum, if I heard correctly, didn't you Evelyn?" she said, looking more interested than Evie ever remembered seeing her.

Evie looked up from her plate of lamb, confused.

"No, just the one, I'm still waiting to hear back."

"Oh, I don't mean anything official. But you did run into Stuart Blackmer while you were there, didn't you?"

Evie stilled. No, not now. Not while Rick was across from her and she still hadn't decided whether or how to explain this!

"Wait, did you?" her father asked, sounding very surprised.

"You didn't know?" Granny asked her son.

"I'd heard he was back in London, Evie said she knew that," Howard said. "Did you actually run into him?"

Rick was looking very confused, and Jonathan had a look of dread on his face.

"According to Mrs. Whitmore you did. She told Mrs. Hastings when they had tea yesterday. Mrs. Hastings asked me if I knew when she called this morning."

"Apparently I've forgotten what a small village London is," Evie said, annoyed that she'd said anything around Mrs. Whitmore.

"So, it's true, you did see him?" Granny asked, sounding strangely pleased at the idea.

"Did you?" her father asked.

"Yes!" she snapped. "Yes, I saw him in passing at the museum. We exchanged pleasantries, that's all."

"Why didn't you say anything?" her father asked, sounding almost hurt.

"Because it was nothing! I didn't think it mattered anyway," she said, annoyed, and trying to avoid Rick's eyes.

"Nothing?" Granny asked. "Really, nothing?"

"Yes, Granny. Nothing. I'm not sure what Mrs. Whitmore and Mrs. Hastings think there was to it, but I assure you, we exchanged pleasantries, and that was it. I'm not sure what else you would have expected," Evie said with disbelief.

Granny ignored the last part and went on.

"Mrs. Hastings is friendly with Mrs. Blackmer, and she said that apparently he was quite happy to see you were back in London. Perhaps all is forgiven. He's still single you know."

"I didn't know," Evie said, and saw Rick looking more and more curiously at her. She shook her head to try to tell him not to say anything. He seemed to get the message, or just didn't know what to say. "But quite honestly, I don't see what that has to do with me at this point."

"Three years and you both still single? Perhaps it's a sign that things can be worked out."

"Mama, I really don't think," Howard started to say, but his mother ignored him.

"I mean, you were going to marry the man," Granny continued and Evie nearly sputtered.

Rick's head raised from his plate in surprise, but Evie saw Jonathan elbow him before he could make a sound.

"And if he's forgiven you…"

"Forgiven me?" Evie interrupted, trying not to yell. "What?"

"Well, you did practically leave the man at the altar."

"Mama," her father spoke to his mother louder this time, "that isn't fair. She called it off three months before the wedding was scheduled, that's hardly leaving someone at the altar."

"It's close enough when you give no one an explanation. I remember his mother saying she had no idea why the wedding was called off."

"Mr. Blackmer knows perfectly well why I called it off Granny, I can't help the fact that he didn't tell his mother about it," Evie said, willing herself not to tear up. "I don't owe her an explanation, nor do I owe you one."

Granny sighed in frustration.

"I always thought he was a good match for you," she said.

"Well he wasn't," Evie insisted. "Not then, and not now."

"I was honestly hoping you'd be past whatever foolishness made you call it off in the first place. It's probably the best offer of marriage you'll ever get and you're not getting any younger," Granny said in annoyance.

"Mama!" her father protested on her behalf, but Evie simply pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. She could feel her tears welling up and couldn't bear the idea of crying and yelling with so many witnesses.

"Then I guess I'll just have to be a spinster then because I promise you, that's preferable to marrying him!"

She stormed from the dining room and made her way to her bedroom, where she finally let her tears fall.

Everyone remaining in the dining room sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Rick's head was spinning with the knowledge that Evelyn had been engaged before, and the concern that she was so upset. He wanted to go after her, but it would be too obvious.

"Are you happy Mama?" Howard asked his mother angrily. "Is that what you were hoping for?"

"I was hoping she might finally see sense," Granny said. "I certainly didn't think she'd react with histrionics, especially with a guest here. My apologies Mr. O'Connell, you must be appalled at her behavior."

Rick turned to her with his eyebrows raised.

"Not especially, since she wasn't the one who started it."

He could see Jonathan's eyes widen, and then take a swig of his drink. Howard seemed rather surprised too and the old woman was momentarily stunned. Rick decided that might be his best opportunity to escape.

"I think I'll turn in for the night, if you'll excuse me," he said, getting up from the table.

"I'm a bit tired myself," he heard Jonathan say. "I'm going to head upstairs too. Good night Granny."

The two of them practically raced from the dining room.

"So, I take it Evie didn't mention anything about old Stuart to you?" Jonathan whispered as they headed for the staircase.

"Nope, she didn't say a word."

"She never talks about it," Jonathan said. "I don't even know why she called it off, to be honest, I always liked the bloke well enough. One day, everything was fine, the next my mother was telling me the wedding was off and I wasn't to question Evie about it because she was too upset. Anytime you try to ask her, she just says she realized they weren't as compatible as she thought."

"But you don't think that's it?"

"I'm sure she's not wrong, but it happened so abruptly I always thought he must have been unfaithful or something. He wouldn't seem the type really, but you never know. But maybe she'll tell you the whole story."

"Maybe."

They were at the top of the stairs now. Normally they'd split here, but Rick kept walking with him.

"Do you know which room is hers?" Jonathan asked, almost as though he didn't want to know the answer.

"Uh, no, actually I just know it's down that hall," Rick admitted as he pointed down the corridor.

"It's the third door on the left," Jonathan said.

"That was easy," Rick commented, eyebrow raised.

"If she wants to see anyone right now, it's probably you. And probably better if I just tell you rather than you trying every door. Because you would have."

"If I had to," Rick nodded.

"Well, go see if she'll talk to you, or…something. Just don't get caught."

And with the whispering ended, Jonathan continued down the corridor while Rick approached the third door on the left.

"Evie," he called softly as he knocked, glancing around again to make sure there was still no one around. The corridor was silent. "Evie it's me. Can I come in?"

After a moment, she opened her door and peaked out. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she'd changed into her nightgown. She looked so upset that he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms. Evie quickly looked around and when she saw no one watching she practically pulled him into her bedroom. Once inside, he held her tightly as she cried for a few minutes. He kissed the top of her head a few times and rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry," she said as she pulled away and caught her breath. "I'm sorry, I'm such a mess right now."

"Don't apologize," he said, walking over to the arm chair in her room. She curled up in his lap when he sat down. "That woman is a piece of work."

"I can usually just ignore her," Evie said. "But this is just...below the belt, even for her."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, as he stroked her hair. But the elephant in the room wouldn't stay invisible for long. Evie pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes.

"I presume you have some questions," she stated softly, looking a bit nervous.

Rick sighed.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't," he said.

Evie nodded, although she was quiet for a minute. She snuggled a bit closer to him and he held her tighter. Then she looked up at him and started talking.

"Stuart Blackmer and I knew each other loosely through our families for years. His grandmother was good friends with Granny before she passed away. We went up to the university at the same time. I was able to enroll at sixteen. He was eighteen. We got close over our studies, as we were both studying history and archeology. I was the only woman studying archeology, and I was only allowed to do it as a minor study. That's why my degree is library sciences instead. But Stuart was always encouraging when everyone else tried to overlook me."

She paused as tears welled in her eyes again.

"Then one night, towards the end of our first year, he invited me to a dance with him. It was a nice evening, and he courted me more after that."

"I'm guessing it ended badly?" Rick asked when she paused again. A few scenarios ran through his mind, each of them making him want to beat the man for hurting her.

"Yes," she said. "But it took time to get there. Everything was wonderful for a while. We were together for two years. He told me he loved me, and I thought he meant it. My parents liked him, Jonathan liked him, Granny liked him. When he asked me to marry him, everyone was happy for me, and excited. But of course, it was too good to be true. You don't do what he did to someone you love," she said, practically spitting the last sentence.

"Did he...was he...with other women?" Rick asked. It was what Jonathan had thought and it seemed like the most logical explanation.

"No," Evie sighed. "And I know this is a strange thing to say, but sometimes I wish that was what he had done."

Rick cocked his head in confusion. Evie gave a small, sad smile and went on.

"Ending an engagement because my fiancé was unfaithful to me is something anyone can understand and even sympathize with. Even Granny would understand leaving a man for that type of betrayal. But Stuart's betrayal...well, some people wouldn't see it the same way. Or if they do, they just wouldn't see it as a big deal."

"So, what exactly did he do?" Rick asked.

"Well, at first I was having some trouble finding work in the field. I graduated with honors and my qualifications were just as good as any of the men, but no one seemed to want to hire a woman. So, I took a job at the British Museum's library for a bit, since I didn't want to just sit at home living off my parents' money anymore. It was a good job and I had more resources for own my research than I could have asked for. And things started looking up when some of my research on the reign of Seti I was published in a paper. It had multiple authors, but it was a step up and I started getting offers for research assistance jobs. Then Stuart asked me to assist on a project. It was on the legends of Hamunaptra, of all things, if you can believe that."

"I can actually," Rick said, smiling. She smiled back and then continued.

"I'm sure many people would assume that the reason I chose to work with Stuart as opposed to a different job was due to the fact that he was my fiancé, but that wasn't exactly true. It was the most exciting research opportunity that I was offered. And assisting on that type of research could have skyrocketed my career."

"So, what went wrong?" Rick asked, not really sure of the direction this story was going in.

"I did the bulk of the research and assisted a lot in the writing. I expected to be listed as one of the authors, as is only right. And since I trusted Stuart, I didn't bother to ask him for a signed agreement or anything, like I would have for any other job. And I suppose I have no one but myself to blame for that."

Evie paused for a moment to wipe a tear that had formed in her eyes. Rick took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She squeezed his hand back and continued.

"When the paper came out, it had Stuart Blackmer listed as the sole author. There was no mention of Evelyn Carnahan at all. Not even a lousy footnote."

Rick didn't know much about academia, but this was an affront even he could understand.

"So, he took credit for research you did?" he asked, anger in his voice.

"Exactly," Evie said.

"What was he thinking, you'd never notice or something?"

"I wasn't sure at first. I kept asking him about the article, and after a while he seemed annoyed anytime I brought it up. I thought he just might be anxious, so I tried to be patient and not ask too much. I went on with my work and started planning our wedding. I actually got as far as booking the church, and even looked at some gowns. Then one day I got a bunch of new journals to stock in the library. I flipped through the history and archeology ones to see if there was anything I wanted to read up on, when I saw the title of our paper. And only Stuart's name listed as an author. And when I scanned it, I saw no mention of any other writer or researcher."

Her voice cracked a bit at the last part and Rick squeezed her hand again.

"I was so stunned, I think I must have stared at it for twenty minutes or so. And then I just felt sick and couldn't concentrate. I must have looked like I was in a state too because the curator came by, and when he saw me, he told me to go home and rest. But I didn't go home. I went to see Stuart at his office. As soon as he saw my face, he knew I'd seen the journal. When I demanded an explanation, he started stammering that there must have been a misunderstanding. That he'd never said I was to be listed as an author."

Rick shook his head in disbelief.

"He tried a few excuses, even that he was afraid it wouldn't get published with a woman's name attached to it, which was completely ridiculous as my name had been on published articles before. But that wasn't the truth. He just didn't want anyone else credited, he wanted the honors and the recognition for himself. He never said the words directly, but it became obvious with how he was trying to defend himself."

"If he wanted the credit, he could have done it himself, let you do some work you could take credit for."

"I know. My mother thought he also felt threatened by me. He didn't want my research to take precedent. When I was confronting him, he even promised me that if it led to an expedition, he'd 'bring me along,' and I'd still get to do what I really wanted. Bring me along, as though I were some kind of carpet bag. And then he said if any money came from it, it was fine since we were getting married. It would be both of ours anyway."

"I'm guessing that's when you decided you were not marrying him?" Rick guessed.

"Well, I was too shocked to make any decisions at that moment to be honest. So, I just left and went home. Mama saw me come in and she could tell I was angry about something. She was so appalled when I told her. I think she had half a mind to wring his neck herself."

"Did she?" Rick asked. "Because someone should have."

"No. But when I asked her what she thought I should do, she asked me if I really wanted to be married to someone who would disrespect me like that. Or try to cheat me out of recognition I deserved. Obviously, my answer was 'no.' I could never be married to someone who didn't see me as an equal. Whom I couldn't trust to be honest with me. He called on me the next morning, and I told him just that. To his credit, by then he did look rather ashamed of himself. I gave him back the engagement ring and told him I never wanted to see him again."

"Did you report him or anything? I mean I admit I know nothing about this kind of thing but this seems like theft."

"It is theft," Evie agreed. "But there was no way to prove it really. I never signed a contract, which again, even I have to admit was my own fault. And I gave him all of the notarized documents with my signature on them, which was the only proof I had worked on it. I'm sure he got rid of them once he knew the paper would be published. So, there's really nothing to be done about it now."

Rick kissed her head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That's...he's...well if I ever meet him, I'll be glad to teach him a lesson."

She laughed at that. Then she leaned upward and planted a kiss on his lips.

"While I'm sure you could, I'd rather you didn't go back to prison for getting violent with Stuart."

"Who said anything about violence?" Rick said with a grin feigning innocence.

Evie simply raised her eyebrows at him with a smile.

"Okay fine, I want to give him a beating for hurting you like that," Rick admitted.

"It did hurt, in more ways than one," Evie sighed, laying her head back on his chest. "It set my career back for one. And it was the reason I moved down to Cairo. Mama thought it would be good for me to have a change of scenery, and I agreed. Papa spoke to Dr. Bey at the Museum of Antiquities and I got the job there easily. And then about three years later, my brother came to see me and showed me an interesting puzzle box he'd stolen off a drunk at the local casbah."

She looked up at him again with a grin and he couldn't help but grin back at her.

"And the rest, as they say, is history," Rick said.

"Papa likes to say that everything happens for a reason," Evie said. "I was never all that sure myself, but it seems like everything's working out," she continued, giving her love another kiss. He responded eagerly and they stayed that way for a few minutes. When she broke it, they touched noses for a moment before Rick spoke again.

"Just so I'm clear," he started, with a cheeky smile. "If this guy does come around, you do not want me to give him the beating he deserves?"

Evie rolled her eyes and giggled for a second.

"No. If Stuart Blackmer decides to come around, I'm just going to tell him that what I said three years ago still stands and tell him to leave. He knows what he did and if he has the sense he was born with, he knows the odds of my taking him back aren't in his favor."

"But if he doesn't take no for an answer..." Rick began.

"Then maybe I'll let you give him a, what was it? A right hook," Evie said with a laugh.

"I was thinking of something with a bit more force, but a right hook is a good start. Although I bet you could give him that now if you felt like it," he said, kissing her cheek affectionately.

"Don't tempt me," she said, giggling as he kissed her other cheek and then moved down to her neck. She let him for a minute or so, closing her eyes and giving a soft moan. When she opened her eyes, she pulled back from him and looked into his soft blue eyes.

"Don't tempt me," she repeated.

He nodded.

"Only if you don't tempt me back," he said.

"I'm not so tempting," she said, with a blush.

"You are. Very," he said, kissing her again.

"Well," she said when they broke apart again. "I think that means I should go to bed."

He sighed in mock frustration, but he was grinning.

"So, this is goodnight?" he asked.

"Yes, this is goodnight," she said, giving him one more kiss and then standing up. He stood up and moved towards the door. They held each other's hands as he walked through the doorway, not separating until they had to.

Evie went back over to her bed and snuggled down on top of the cold sheets, part of her wanting Rick to come back and warm her up again. Her thoughts of her past with Stuart replaced by her present with Rick, she fell asleep quickly and slept soundly.

Rick walked as quietly down the corridor as he could, glad he didn't see anyone as he turned the corner. Now in a different corridor, it would be easy to pretend he hadn't come from Evie's room.

When he got back to his room, the bed suddenly looked too large. He wanted her with him, wanted to hold her close as she slept. But for now, he'd have to settle for dreaming about her instead. Before he got into bed, he took the ring box out of it's hiding place and stared at it for a minute. She wouldn't have to be a spinster if she'd have him. But he still had to decide how and when to ask her.

If there was one thing Evie had to admit about her grandmother, it was that the woman really did know how to throw a party. No detail was left to chance. The food and drink appeared bottomless, and the garden looked impeccable.

It was currently swarming with high society people, some Evie remembered meeting at different points in her life, others she was not acquainted with. She sat at a table with Sarah Whitmore, sipping on a cold drink, looking round at the other guests, and enjoying the sun on her face.

"Granny really lucked out with the weather today," she said, her face turned up towards the sun as she leaned back on her lounge chair.

"It is an absolutely perfect day," Sarah agreed also turning her face toward the sun.

"And thanks to that, she's in such a good mood, she's behaving herself," Evie said. "Hasn't said one unpleasant thing to me all day."

"Has she been awful recently?" Sarah asked.

"Yes. She found out I ran into Stuart at the British Museum and seems to want me to take him back."

"I'm sorry, I'm guessing my mother said something," Sarah said. "That must have been an unpleasant conversation."

"That's putting it mildly," Evie admitted. "She kept going on and I lost my temper. I'm sure it gave everyone in the house a lot of gossip to enjoy for a while."

"Just the servants, or did you have other guests as well?" Sarah asked.

"No, only the family. Well, and Rick of course," Evie added. It was almost becoming hard to think of Rick as not family.

"Oh yes, what did he think of the whole thing?" Sarah asked, putting her glass down on the table.

"He finds Granny obnoxious at best, so I think he would have taken my side regardless," Evie said.

"Did he know?" Sarah asked.

"Know what?" Evie asked, sitting up and turning to face her friend.

"That you were engaged before, to Mr. Blackmer."

"No," Evie answered honestly.

"Must have been a surprise for him," Sarah said.

"What are you getting at, Sarah?" Evie asked her friend.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on Evie, you know perfectly well what I'm getting at!" she whispered quietly. "I let you off the hook last week because my mother came home and joined us, but I'm not letting you off this time. I've known you long enough to…"

"Miss Carnahan, Miss Whitmore?" The two young women turned to see Tom, a footman, holding a tray of canapes out.

"Oh, thank you Tom," Evie said, trying not to obviously hurry him away after they each took a sample of the appetizers. As soon as Sarah was sure the footman was out of earshot, she leaned to Evie and started whispering again.

"Come on, you can tell me. I promise I won't say a word, and my mother's too far away to hear us and spill the beans. You have feelings for him, don't you?" Sarah asked, eyes alight at the idea.

"Okay, yes," Evie said, exhausted from keeping it a secret. "I do. Are you happy?"

"Yes!" Sarah smiled in delight. "Especially because he clearly has feelings for you too."

"What exactly gives you that idea?" Evie asked, worried Rick had blown their cover somehow, although when would that have happened?

"When I saw you two at the museum together, it was clear he wasn't just a colleague to you. And I may not be that experienced with men, but I know if he only saw you as a friend, he would not have defended you so gallantly."

"That's a bit of a leap," Evie began, but Sarah interrupted her.

"Not when I also see him constantly looking over at you," Sarah said. "I mean, even if Jonathan and his friends were boring him to tears, I can't imagine you and I are so much more interesting sitting here eating canapes. Unless he just can't take his eyes off one of us of course. And I don't think it's me he's been looking at."

Evie looked over to where Jonathan had taken Rick to socialize with a group of men. He was standing at the edge of the group, a drink in his hand. He was indeed looking over at her. When she caught his eye, he gave her a small smile, but then turned back to whatever conversation the men were having.

"See?" Sarah said, happily. "He likes you too."

"Maybe," said Evie, still not comfortable with telling her friend the whole truth. But words continued to spill out of her anyway. "Even if you're right, I'm not sure anything can come of it."

That part was not deception. She was convinced she loved Rick, and she was pretty sure he loved her too. And perhaps in Cairo, that would have been all that mattered. But if they went public here, she was nervous it would end badly. Her father might like Rick well enough as her friend, but her…boyfriend, suitor, whatever he was? She couldn't be sure. And while at twenty-three she no longer needed her father's permission for these sorts of things, that didn't mean there wouldn't be consequences if he was unhappy with her relationship.

Sarah didn't seem to have the same doubts.

"Why on earth not?" she asked, a confused look on her face.

Evie tilted her head towards their fathers, who conveniently were standing near enough to where her grandmother was sitting that the point was doubly expressed.

"Oh," Sarah said.

"Do you think my father would approve? I already know Granny won't, he's not high society and he's American, but I'm not sure about Papa."

"But your father seems to like him," Sarah said. "My father even said that yours spoke very well of him after the hunt. And that they seemed to get on."

"That's true," Evie admitted. Rick seemed to have enjoyed himself on the hunt, and had said he'd gotten on well with her father. "But, if say, he did pursue me and I accepted, do you think my father would still be accepting?"

"Well, it wouldn't be conventional," Sarah admitted. "But your father has always supported what made you happy. Isn't that why he sent you to university, and supported all your academic ambitions, even though so many men told him it was a waste of your time and his money to educate you so thoroughly?"

This was what Evie had been arguing about with herself since Cairo, but somehow hearing it from Sarah was different. She had even believed these words were true until Jonathan had gotten into her head. And her father did seem to like Rick.

She was being foolish, she realized, and a coward. It was tiresome being so secretive. Here she was, lying to her best friend from childhood. She hoped Sarah would understand later.

Next time they were alone, she'd tell Rick it was time they were honest with her father.

Rick, meanwhile, was stuck in a pack of Jonathan's friends. To keep up the charade, Jonathan had dragged him along to the club one day and he'd been introduced to several of them then. While it definitely wasn't an environment that he desired to be in all the time, Jonathan's friends weren't a bad lot, so he didn't mind that he had to spend time with them at the party for appearances' sake, even if he'd rather be with Evelyn.

Most of the other young men had seen combat, so they had that in common, and they could all shoot, drink, and discuss women. Rick kept quiet in those conversations, giving only a little information here and there. Now that he was with Evie, and had fallen for her so completely, it felt wrong to brag about his past in that department. He wasn't exactly proud of it now, and he certainly didn't want all the sordid details getting back to Evie. Her knowing he wasn't an innocent virgin was one thing, but knowing all the details…that conversation would be very uncomfortable.

Inevitably the conversation did move to women, as two of them were due to be married soon. Eventually one of them turn to Rick and asked,

"What about you, O'Connell? Got a special lady or just sowing your wild oats?"

Rick stopped sipping his glass of whisky and looked up. Jonathan had a nervous look on his face, but said nothing.

"Oh, come on, he's still a young man, he's still on the prowl. Enjoy it while you can, lad," said another one of them, called Charlie, who seemed like he was on the older side of the bunch.

Rick raised his glass in a cheers manner and took a sip of his whisky. Then the man who asked, whose name Rick remembered was Ted, suddenly saw something that interested him from the entrance to the garden.

"Jonathan, isn't that Blackmer? The man your sister was engaged to?"

Rick whipped around to where the man was gesturing as Jonathan's eyes widened in recognition. A young man and a middle-aged woman had just entered the garden.

"Yes, that's Blackmer alright," Jonathan said. "I didn't realize my grandmother invited him."

"He's not a bad bloke," a man named Andrew, who had done archeological work with Jonathan in the past, said. "I used to see a lot of him in London, and I ran into him in New York when I went over last year. He said your sister was the one who broke it off with him."

"I never said he was a bad bloke," Jonathan said. "I always liked him, actually."

Rick raised his eyebrows at him, which caused Jonathan to look back at him confused. But that was the only communication they could manage before they saw the young dark-haired man began to walk over to them.

"Blackmer, how are you?" Andrew asked, happy to see his friend. Greetings to Evie's former fiancé ensued, and he went around the group.

"Hello Stuart old boy," Jonathan said, trying not to sound awkward.

"Hello Jonathan," Stuart said, shaking hands with him. "Good to see you. I heard about your expedition to Hamunaptra. Absolutely brilliant that you all discovered it."

"Yes, it was definitely something," Jonathan said.

"How did you come across it? None of my research led to any idea of the location."

"Your research?" Rick blurted out.

Stuart Blackmer, Jonathan, and the rest of the men looked over at the tall American who had spoken up in a voice that some of them wondered was angry. But that was ridiculous, why would he be angry?

"Um, yes, several years ago I was able to publish a detailed account of the legends, and it became clear that the city was more than a myth. But it didn't lead to learning the location. I'm sorry, you are…"

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners?" Jonathan butted in. "Stuart Blackmer, this is Rick O'Connell, he's actually the one who led Evelyn and I to the lost city. He's the one who found the location."

"How on earth did you find it?" Stuart asked, interested, past Rick's abrasive tone.

"Sheer dumb luck," Rick said, quickly. It wasn't really that far off.

Everyone was looking over at him curiously now.

"Oh, come on O'Connell, don't be modest," Jonathan said with a nervous laugh. "It's quite the story, really."

Rick gave a quick overview of his garrison finding the city. Stuart looked at him rather disbelievingly.

"Years and years of research never brought us close to finding a location. And yet, people who knew really nothing beyond the basic myths just manage to stumble across it," he said, sounding disbelieving.

"Like I said, it was basically sheer dumb luck," Rick said again.

"So Blackmer, what brought you back from New York?" Jonathan asked, for a change of subject.

"My contract with the Metropolitan ended, and there wasn't much else for me there so I decided to come home for a while," he said. "I was lucky, there was an opening in one of the offices at the British Museum so I'll be doing work with them for the time being."

"Any luck with the American ladies? I hear they're a bit…freer, then ours are," Charlie asked, with a grin.

Rick rolled his eyes.

"Any truth to that, O'Connell?" Ted asked him. "What are the women like on your side of the pond?"

Rick shrugged.

"Couldn't really tell you. I haven't been there since I was fifteen. But if you say so…"

There was a slightly awkward silence after that, which Stuart broke with,

"Honestly, there might be some truth to that, but not so much as you'd think," he said.

"But you had no luck there?" Charlie asked.

"Not in the 'getting married' sense, no, but I did see some of a few of them," he answered.

"Your mother on you about that?" Ted asked.

"About me getting married and settling down? Well, she was always confused about why my engagement ended and ever since then she's been hoping I'd marry someone else."

"If you ask me mate, you dodged a bullet there," Andrew said, causing both Rick and Jonathan to look at him. "Hey, don't take this the wrong way, Carnahan, your sister is a nice enough girl, but I can't imagine what being married to her would be like. Sounds like a nightmare personally, she'd probably be a right nag."

Rick's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist. Stuart had the good grace (or possibly just good sense) to simply shrug it off.

"I don't know, she has a good body, could be worth it," laughed Ted. A few of the others nodded and joined in.

Rick jerked toward him but an elbow from Jonathan stopped him. The other men noticed the quick movement, but Jonathan quickly said,

"Alright boys, enough, that is my baby sister you're talking about," he said, more firmly than he normally would.

The men muttered apologies, and Jonathan elbowed Rick again, as he was still glaring at the other men. Rick forced his face to relax and began to move away.

"I'm going to get another drink, excuse me."

He quickly left the group, and began wandering around. He saw Sarah Whitmore and walked towards where she was sitting, thinking Evie might still be with her. But she was nowhere to be found. And as soon as he approached her, before he could even say hello, Sarah said,

"Hello Mr. O'Connell. If you're looking for Evelyn, she's gone up to the house."

"Oh, no I was just kind of wandering, and seeing if I could get another drink," Rick lied.

Sarah gave him a knowing smile.

"She didn't want to talk to Mr. Blackmer," Sarah went on. "So, she decided to go inside for a while."

"I can't really blame her," Rick said.

"Neither can I, but it is just like Mrs. Carnahan to do this."

"Yeah, from what I've seen of her, it's not that surprising," Rick said.

He stood there for another minute, feeling slightly awkward, and Sarah continued.

"She probably went up to her father's library. It looks down onto the grounds here, so she'd be able to see if he left."

He turned back and met her eyes.

"I don't think she'd be upset if a friend joined her," Sarah continued, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Rick nodded, and walked away from her, towards the main house. There were enough people breaking off into groups that he managed to avoid eye contact with any people he'd met so they hopefully wouldn't call him over. He made it to the door without anyone summoning him and since the majority of the servants were assisting outside with the party, he met no one on the way in.

He made his way to Mr. Carnahan's library, which for a library in a house was rather impressive. The walls were covered in shelves that were full of books. There were some tables that could be used for writing and all the furniture was old, but looked comfortable.

He found Evie sitting on a sofa that was by the large window that looked out over the garden. She had an irritated expression on her face, but he could see a tear on her cheek.

He knocked on the wall to let her know he was there. She turned, and smiled as she saw him.

"Sarah told you I came inside?" she guessed, gesturing next to her on the sofa. He walked over and sat down, giving her a quick kiss as he did.

"Playing with fire, are we?" she continued.

"Everyone's outside," he said.

They sat in silence for a minute, rubbing each other's hands as they looked down at the party and then back at each other.

"So, you made Stuart's acquaintance I see?" she asked, breaking the cozy silence.

"Yeah, he came by. Bastard did mention 'his' research at one point."

"Did you hold your tongue?" Evie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes!" he said. "Barely, but yes," he admitted.

She giggled a bit. "Well what else did you boys talk about?"

"Nothing much," he said.

"Oh, come on, my brother's friends never shut up when they're all together, you must have talked about something."

"I don't know, someone's getting married soon, so a lot of marriage jokes," he said, awkwardly.

"Oh, let me guess," Evie said, guessing what one of them was, "someone told Stuart he dodged a bullet by not marrying me?" she said, matter-of-factly.

"Uh, yeah, that might have been mentioned," Rick said, surprised by her smile.

"I heard them say it after I broke the engagement. I don't remember which of them it was, but I heard it when my brother had a bunch of them round for a hunt that year."

"And you're just okay with that? Because I almost knocked him out, Jonathan had to grab my arm."

Evie shrugged.

"It bothered me at the time. I remember being angry, because of course a bunch of men who didn't know the whole story automatically assumed everything was the woman's fault, but honestly, they're idiots. They always have been, probably always will be. And Jonathan did actually tell them off. It was nice to know he cared enough, even if he didn't understand either."

"He told them off this time too. Or, at least, to change the subject."

"Did they?"

"I don't know, that's when I almost punched that guy so I walked away."

"Well I'm glad you did. Although that probably would have been amusing to witness," she admitted.

"Please, a guy that size, he'd have been knocked out before you even noticed what was going on," Rick said.

She laughed.

"Knowing your arm, probably," she said, surprised at how easy the flirting was coming to her now. After a quick glance around, she leaned in and kissed him.

"So now whose playing with fire?" Rick grinned.

"Everyone's outside," she said. "Outside either working or actually enjoying the sun."

"You know, we could go back out and enjoy the rare amount of sunlight this country seems to get," Rick suggested.

She was confused.

"Did you suddenly forget why I came in here in the last five seconds?"

"No, I promise I have a longer attention span than that," Rick said. "But why should you be stuck inside just because he's here? This is your home, not his."

She sighed and stared at her hands for a minute.

"Plus, you know what makes a man feel worse than anything else, even if they never admit it?" he said, a smirk coming onto his face.

"What?"

"Seeing the wonderful woman that they were stupid enough to let go of, be happy without them."

She rolled her eyes at him, but also smiled back.

"I'm serious. Go back out, and let him, your grandmother, and whoever else wants you back with him; let them see that you're having a nice life without him."

She took a deep breath as she considered his words.

"I mean, if you want, we can hide in here for the rest of the day," Rick said. "But why should he get to enjoy all the sunshine and good food while you're in here?"

He stood up and held his hand out.

"Let him see how much better you are without him."

After a moment's hesitation, she smiled, took his hand, and stood up to walk back towards the door with him.

They were still holding hands when they came upon someone coming through the door. Stuart Blackmer. Evie immediately dropped Rick's hand and sucked in a breath.

"Evelyn," he said, surprised. He clearly hadn't expected to run into her the second he walked in the door.

"Mr. Blackmer," she said, deliberately. "You've met Mr. O'Connell, I believe."

"Yes, just today," he said, and the two men nodded at each other.

"Did my father tell you to come in the house?" Evie asked. Party guests weren't supposed to go into the main house.

"Oh no, I just didn't see you outside, and thought you might be in the library."

"So, you just came inside?" she questioned. Rick held back a chuckle.

"Well, I was hoping to talk to you," Stuart admitted. "It's uh, it's the only reason I agreed to come along with my mother. I thought your grandmother would have told you that."

Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"You must have forgotten that she doesn't tell me that much if she thinks I won't do what she wants."

Rick held back a smirk as Stuart just looked awkward in the doorway.

"Okay," she said, to Rick's surprise. "Go ahead, talk. If you're that desperate for a chat, go on."

Stuart looked over to Rick, an expression of expectation on his face. Rick didn't move, just kept looking at the dark-haired man.

"Can we talk alone?"

"I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate," she said.

"You were inside with him alone," Stuart pointed out, gesturing towards Rick, and admittedly she couldn't think of a good come back for that one.

"He's also staying here," was what she came up with but knew it was lame. "But alright, fine," she surrendered to the inevitable. "I'll speak to you outside. I apologize, Mr. O'Connell, but if you'll excuse us," she said, looking over at him.

"Okay, I will go, get another drink or something," he said, a bit reluctantly as they walked outside. He left them talking near the stairs, and looked back a few times as he walked back to more of the party goers. Suddenly he heard his name being said, and saw Mr. Carnahan summoning him over.

"Is everything alright? I didn't know my mother was going to invite him, but I don't want to make a scene if it's not necessary," he whispered to the younger man on the outskirts of his social group. He was eyeing Evie talking to Stuart near the house, looking worried. Rick noticed her arms were crossed and she seemed to just have a blank stare on her face.

"I think she's okay," Rick said.

"Well, I'll rescue her in a few moments anyway if I have to. Some of the people from the museum are here and they're preparing for a press release for the exhibition. They'll want to talk to both of you."

At that moment Dr. Whitmore approached them with two other men Rick didn't recognize. Howard quickly introduced Rick to them, and he found himself once again talking about Hamunaptra.

Meanwhile Evie stayed by the side of the house, trying to keep her face expressionless as she waited for Stuart to talk.

"Well?" she said, when he didn't begin.

"How are you?"

"Seriously? You try to sneak into my father's house, and ask to talk to me alone to ask me how I am?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Okay, fair point."

"For the record, I'm just fine. Splendid really. The museum will probably open the exhibition on Hamunaptra soon."

"I heard. I saw the artifacts. It will be a very impressive exhibition."

"I know it will," she said simply. "Is that what I needed to send Mr. O'Connell away for?"

"How long have you known him?" Stuart asked.

"He and Jonathan met when Jonathan noticed his box that turned out to come from Hamunaptra. He had been there before, so he guided us there," Evie recited.

"So, you two just took off and went with him? How did you know he was telling the truth?"

"Well he got us there, so obviously he was," Evie quipped back. Admittedly, had she told her father her plans before they had set off, he probably would have had the same concerns.

Stuart was of the same mindset.

"I can't imagine your father was thrilled with the idea."

"He hasn't mentioned anything to indicate that," Evie shrugged. "In fact, he and R-Mr. O'Connell seem to get on very well."

She gestured over to where Rick and her father seemed to be having a pleasant chat, and hoped Stuart hadn't noticed her slip by almost saying 'Rick' instead of 'Mr. O'Connell.' The raised eyebrow suggested that unfortunately, he had. She ploughed on.

"But I don't think that's what you've wanted to talk to me about either. So, what is it?"

"And do you two? Get on well?" Stuart asked.

"Well, Jonathan and I wouldn't have brought him with us to stay in our home if we didn't like him," Evie said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, I can see my father has joined some of the men from the museum, and I'd rather like to speak to them, so if you could get to what it is you've been so desperate to talk to me about…" Evie said, impatiently.

Stuart sighed.

"Just about…the way we ended things. I wanted to make sure the air was clear between us. Especially if we're both going to be in London long term now."

"Let's be perfectly clear, Mr. Blackmer," Evie said softly, but with an emphasis on the fact she was refusing to use his Christian name. "The way we ended things was your doing. I don't care what story you told your mother or anyone else, you know why. You betrayed my trust, and then I had to work even harder to make up for the opportunities I lost thanks to you. And myself, for being stupid enough not to insist on a contract between us, or not keeping my documents for myself. Trusting you was clearly my biggest blunder."

"Evelyn," he began but she held up her hand.

"No, you wanted to have this chat, you get to listen now. I trusted you and you betrayed that trust. You set my career back, you made me look like a fool, and quite frankly you wasted a lot of my time. I wasted over two years of my life caring for someone who clearly didn't respect me. But I've moved on. I kept working and eventually got my career to where I wanted it to be. Things have worked out very well for me as of late."

"Yes, I can see that. And I'm glad," Stuart said, although he didn't really sound it.

"And as far as the air between us, I can consider the air clear but that doesn't mean we're suddenly friends again, or anything else for that matter."

"Yeah, I'm starting to see that that's impossible," he said, sounding more annoyed. "I was rather hoping you'd be past it."

"I'm past it in the sense that I'm not dwelling on it, but that doesn't mean I want to spend time with the man responsible," Evie said. "I'm really not sure what else you would have expected," she continued.

"Your grandmother said…"

"My grandmother doesn't speak for me. I should have thought you'd remember not to take her too seriously at least."

"So, that's it then?" he asked.

"What else is there?" Evie said. "If you thought that there was any chance of us having anything more than an acquaintance relationship, then you clearly don't have the sense I once thought you did."

"You know, everyone's right about you," he said, his eyes narrowing a bit more in annoyance. "You really are a very stubborn woman."

"Well, considering my stubbornness is part of what got me to where I want to be, I don't think it's a bad thing. Now if you'll excuse me, there are other people here I'd rather be talking too."

And with that, Evie turned her back on Stuart Blackmer and walked to where her father and Rick were talking to Mr. Ramstead, Dr. Whitmore, and a few other members of the museum and Bembridge society.

"Ah, Miss Carnahan, lovely to see you again," Mr. Ramstead said as she arrived, shaking her hand enthusiastically. "I was just talking with Mr. O'Connell here about the exhibition opening. We're hoping the two of you and your brother can do a press interview soon to prepare. We'll send you more detailed information later this week, but it should be very soon."

"That sounds fantastic," Evie said, smiling widely.

They all continued to talk about the upcoming opening. Rick caught her eye at one point and mouthed, 'everything okay?' to her. She smiled and nodded. He subtly moved his hand towards her and brushed it a bit. She did the same. To a casual observer, this would look like their hands accidentally bumped as they were standing and chatting.

Unfortunately, there was one observer who wasn't so casual. Stuart Blackmer hadn't exactly walked away and stayed watching Evie interact with the other men. When he saw how O'Connell's hand brushed hers, he realized that the American's reaction to the earlier jokes suddenly made more sense. And he felt his eyes narrow as he saw Evelyn brushing his hand back. So, that's what she'd meant about 'moving on.'

He turned away from the sight in annoyance when he saw a maid also looking curiously at the group in front of her. She was carrying a plate of food, so he casually went over and took some as customary. He recognized the maid. Her name was Lily, she'd been working for the Carnahans before Evelyn had broken it off with him.

"Hello Lily," he said as he took a piece of whatever food she was carrying. She looked surprised that he knew her name.

"Oh, hello Mr. Blackmer," she said shyly.

"Lovely day for a party isn't it," he said.

"Oh yes, indeed it is," she answered politely.

"How long has the family had Mr. O'Connell as a house guest?" he asked. It was a long shot, but maybe she'd have some information.

"Since Mr. Jonathan and Miss Evelyn returned from Egypt," she answered.

"How long is he staying?"

"Um, I'm not sure, sir. I don't believe his departure is set."

"Seems odd."

Lily didn't answer.

"I'm sorry, I suppose I'm a bit of a nosy parker," Stuart said, smiling at her. "It's none of my business of course, just curious about him. He's completely unknown in the archeological world, but somehow pulled off a discovery like that."

"I wouldn't know much about it, I'm afraid sir," Lily said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"That's alright, I suppose I shouldn't pry anyway," Stuart said, and kept his voice low. "It's just, I used to be around this family so much, it was like they were my family. And this man just seems to come from nowhere, and no one's really looked into him. Seems odd," he repeated.

"I suppose," Lily said. "But he seems a nice enough fellow, and he hasn't caused any trouble. And Miss Carnahan especially seems rather fond of him."

Lily seemed to realize what she was saying and who she was saying it to, and began to move away with her tray.

"I'm sorry Mr. Blackmer, I don't mean to be rude, but I must keep on with my work."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, of course, I didn't mean to hold you up," he said, as pleasantly as ever.

The young maid walked away and Stuart remained where he was, watching the interaction from behind. Eventually the conversation ended and he saw Mr. O'Connell walk with Evelyn for a bit. They didn't touch again, but as Stuart watched Evelyn, her eyes just seemed to light up while she was talking to her new companion.

And who was this man? Who was this man that she seemed to have eagerly replaced him with?


	7. Investigations and Future Plans

CHAPTER SEVEN

Evie swore to herself that she had every intention of talking to her father the next day, but two things distracted her. One was a telephone call from the museum, letting her know that she, Rick, and Jonathan would be needed for press interviews within the next few days, as the Hamunaptra exhibit would be ready to open the next week. This made her both giddy and nervous, and the rest of the day was spent coordinating and organizing, as well as convincing Rick that yes, he did indeed need to wear a tuxedo, or in his words, monkey suit, for the opening.

The second thing was her father being called away unexpectedly. One of their his old friends and colleagues, Sir Gaston, who lived up north was very ill, and as he had little family of his own, Howard immediately set off to be at the man's side. When Rick asked her, Evie told him that this was the man her parents had been with when they'd discovered Tut's tomb. And he'd been there for them unquestioningly after Laila, her mother, had died in the plane crash soon afterwards. So, it was important that Howard focus on that now. He'd promised that unless the worst happened, he'd be back by the exhibition opening. Rick still felt like they were starting to play with fire, but guessed a few days wouldn't make much of a difference at this point.

"So, Mr. O'Connell, we hear tell that you had actually discovered Hamunaptra before, and then escorted Mr. and Miss Carnahan there," the journalist who was interviewing them asked eagerly.

"Yes," Rick answered his third question in a row. Why was the writer acting like he was the only one here? He didn't think he'd really have to talk that much, considering Evie had more knowledge about everything. "That's true," and quickly ran through the story they had agreed on, leaving out the prison bit. That would have caused a lot more questions.

The man interviewing them was a bit too interested in his background though.

"Did you have any archeological experience before this? The Carnahan name is well known in the field, but yours, not so much."

"I'm not an archeologist," Rick answered, honestly.

"And yet, you came across one of the most amazing discoveries in history!"

"Sometimes you get lucky I guess," Rick said. "But if I hadn't met the Carnahans, you wouldn't have ever known about it anyway. I didn't know much about it besides that supposedly there was treasure there."

"They filled in the gaps for you then?"

Rick could see out of the corner of his eye that Evie was getting irritated. He didn't blame her. Jonathan didn't seem worried either way.

"It was the other way around, actually. Ev…Miss Carnahan in particular had done lots of research on the city, knew everything of the history, and even found out a translation mistake that led to the real location of the Book of Amun-Ra. I was just a desert guide, these two knew what to look for," Rick said.

"Ah yes, what was the mistake you all found?" he asked, although still addressing Rick.

"Since she found it, you should ask her about it," Rick said, gesturing to the woman next to him who was attempting to smile through her annoyance.

"Ah yes, of course," the journalist had enough humility to look a bit abashed. "Miss Carnahan, can you tell me exactly how you realized the Bembridge Scholars had made an error in their translations?"

Encouraged now that she was able to talk about her own discovery, Evie began explaining that the Book of the Dead had been found where they had presumed the Book of Amun-Ra would be, and how they had discovered the mix-up. Jonathan added in a few anecdotes here and there, and the interview wrapped up with the promise the article would appear in the next day or so, in time to get ready for the exhibition opening.

Then came Rick's least favorite part of the whole ordeal. Taking the photo. The three of them were moved around and posed, Evie's hair was fussed with (much to her displeasure), their clothes were adjusted, until the photographer was confident the photos would look good when they were developed.

As promised, the article appeared in the newspapers Wednesday morning. Rick got down to breakfast after Jonathan and Evie, both of whom grinned as he walked in.

"Well, here's our 'intrepid explorer' now," Jonathan quipped to his sister as Rick took his seat.

"What?" Rick asked, sitting down.

"It's what the papers are calling you," Evie said, passing it to him, smiling.

Rick took the picture of the three of them standing with some of their Hamunaptra artifacts, along with an article about the discovery of the lost city. 'The children of renowned archeologist Howard Carnahan, Jonathan and Evelyn Carnahan of London, along with intrepid explorer, Richard O'Connell of Chicago…'

Rick started laughing.

"I mean, I guess that's one way to put it," he said, in between laughs. Jonathan and Evie also laughed.

"It's not untrue," Evie said.

"Nope, but not the words I would have picked for you O'Connell," Jonathan said, nearly snorted.

Rick just shrugged while he continued laughing. He wouldn't have picked that phrase for himself either.

While they were all scanning the article and laughing about Rick's new identifying title, there was something else going on that they weren't aware of.

The United States Embassy was bustling as usual when Stuart Blackmer entered. It took him a bit of time to track down his old friend, Thomas Carter, a New York native who'd been living in London for years. The two had met through Blackmer's father, who worked for the Foreign Office and did dealings with the US a lot, and the two had helped each other with difficulties in both of their native cities. And Carter was good at finding out information about people, so if anyone could help him, it was Carter.

"Hello Blackmer, how's it going?" Carter greeted his friend cheerfully. "Glad to be home?"

"New York has its merits," Blackmer said. "But I can't say I'm sorry to be back," he continued as he sat in the chair in Carter's office.

"Well, what brings you in here today? I'm assuming it's not just to catch up, as we could have gone for a beer for that."

"You're right, this isn't just a social call. I need some information on an American citizen who is in London right now. I thought you might be able to help me with that?"

Carter sucked in a breath.

"I mean, I'm sure I could, but it would depend on who and why really. I can't just stop all my work to look into someone for no reason you know."

"Just pretend it's my father asking," Stuart asked. "You wouldn't ask him for a reason."

"No, because usually if the Foreign Office is asking, they have appropriate paperwork that explains why they need the information."

"What if I thought there was reason to believe this man might put a British citizen in danger?"

"Well that would give me a reason to look into it, provided you do actually have sound reasons to think so."

"That's where you come in my friend."

"I'm not going to fabricate something for you. Friends we might be, but that's crossing a line."

"Carter I'd never ask that of you. I just want to know more about who this man is. If there's nothing there, I'll drop it, I swear."

Carter sighed and took a sip of his water as he thought.

"Well, give me the name, I'll see what I can find."

"He's called Rick O'Connell. I presume Rick is short for Richard. From the little I've gathered so far, he was born in Chicago, if that helps you at all."

"Richard O'Connell?" Carter said. "I feel like I just read that name this morning, hang on."

He pulled out the newspaper he'd been reading back out and turned to an article that had one photograph alongside it. Blackmer sighed, he'd forgotten the article was supposed to be out today. He should have come yesterday.

"This guy?"

"Yes," Blackmer said. "I want to know more about him."

Carter gave his friend an almost pitying, and knowing, smile.

"Because he seems to be a close new friend of Evelyn Carnahan's?" he asked.

Blackmer didn't answer right away. Carter simply waited for his friend to crack.

"No one seems to know anything about him," Blackmer explains. "His story about how he found Hamunaptra the first time is highly unlikely, but everyone is just eating it up. And no American would end up in the French Foreign Legion without some sort of scandal or what not behind them. I'd just…in spite of what happened between us, I still care for her. I don't want to see her victimized by some cad who she happened across in the desert."

"You still care for her, or you still want her for yourself?"

Blackmer blinked.

"I just want the truth old friend. I can look into him further, but at least be honest with me."

"I want her back, yes. But even if I can't have her, I don't want her hurt. Can you believe that much of me at least?"

Carter nodded.

"I'll see what I can find out. Might take a few days though. I'll call you when I have something."

The two men shook hands, and Blackmer left with a spring in his step.

True to his word, Howard managed to return home the day of the exhibition opening. He barely managed to get home in time to change but he made it to the museum in time for cocktail hour. Rick saw him come in while he was attempting to talk to as few people as possible by standing off to the side.

"Hello, O'Connell," Howard said, as he made it into the gallery. "Looks like I made it just in time."

"Yeah, they're mostly just serving drinks right now. No speeches or anything yet."

"Ah good, glad I haven't missed much. Was a close call."

"How's your friend?" Rick asked.

"Oh, looks like Gaston will be fine for a time yet. Honestly, I think he's becoming a bit paranoid these days. Thinks anytime he gets the least bit ill it's the result of 'the curse.'"

The word 'curse' sent off alarm bells in Rick's mind. Not another one!

"Curse?" Rick asked.

"Oh, that's right, my children may not have told you. Evelyn certainly wouldn't, she thinks the idea of curses are complete nonsense."

Rick nodded. Now was probably not the time to tell the story of why Evelyn had been converted from her staunch atheist point of view.

"You know my wife was killed in a plane crash?"

"Yes, Evelyn and Jonathan did mention that," Rick remembered.

"Well, he and I were also on that plane. We managed to survive somehow, but the pilot and Laila weren't so lucky. It was a freak accident, but as it happened right after we had made the discovery of King Tut's tomb, people thought it was the result of a curse we must have activated by invading the tomb. He took this to heart and is now convinced anytime he's ill or something bad happens it's the result of the curse."

"Yikes," Rick said. "Was there a curse on it?"

"I'm sure there were many, Egypt is full of curses. Maybe they're real; maybe they aren't. Losing my wife was hard enough, without worrying about curses on top of it though. But the man's been a good friend to me for a long time, so I go up there whenever he thinks the curse is affecting him, even though most of the times, like now, he has something like influenza."

At that moment, Evie came over to see them, looking lovely in a stylish red dress with her hair up.

"Oh, Papa, you made it!" she said with a smile.

"Yes, almost missed the train coming down and then there was some traffic on the way here, so I've only just made it."

"Well you've made good time. They'll be opening the doors to the exhibit room shortly."

"Looks like you've had a good turn out too," Howard said, happily.

"Yes, even better than we hoped for. Several of your old colleagues have turned up too."

"Guess I better start making the rounds then," Howard said, moving further into the room.

Evie turned to look at Rick, smirking a bit.

"Been enjoying trying to hide from everyone?"

"I'm not hiding!" he said, indignantly.

Evie simply raised her eyebrows at him.

"I just don't know how to talk to these people," he whispered to her. "I've answered the same questions a hundred times now, but we have nothing else to talk about, and it's just awkward."

"I promise it's almost over. After tonight, you can fade into the background all you want," she teased him slightly, squeezing his hand as she couldn't see anyone nearby who'd notice enough to care.

"Promise? Because honestly I'd rather go dig into more tombs than deal with this all the time."

"Honestly, I would too," Evie replied. "And perhaps we might be able to soon."

"Oh?"

"I was just chatting with Mr. Ramstead, and he's asked me to come to his office tomorrow morning. He didn't say why, but I think it might be the meeting I've been waiting for!" she said with a giddy smile.

"That's great," Rick said, smiling at her excitement.

"Isn't it? I can finally stop being in limbo and get back to working."

At that moment, Dr. Whitmore approached them, his drink in hand.

"Ah, Evelyn good. I'll be opening the doors to the exhibition hall in a moment. I want you to walk in with me at the front, so you can discuss the different pieces with anyone who has questions."

"Of course," she said, turning to follow him, gesturing toward Rick to come with them. Dr. Whitmore announced that the exhibit was open and the patrons began to follow them inside. Rick had to admit they had done a great job on the exhibit. He hung back while Evie and Dr. Whitmore were explaining the history behind some of the bigger pieces, with Jonathan adding a few facts here and there.

Everyone was listening attentively to Evie's explanations of a few of them for several minutes, and suddenly Rick felt someone move up next to him. He turned his head, expecting to see Howard, but instead it was Stuart Blackmer. Rick hadn't seen him when they arrived and Evie hadn't mentioned if she had. He must have been laying low. Until now.

"She really is a remarkable woman, isn't she?" Evie's former fiancé asked him.

Rick raised his eyebrows at the man.

"Yes, she is," he said, before turning back to look at her again.

"You don't meet too many like that," Blackmer said, almost wistfully. "Beautiful, and smart."

"True," Rick said, shortly.

"Some men would kill for a woman like that," Blackmer said.

Rick nearly smirked, but kept his face neutral as he turned and gave his response.

"Some men would be willing to kill a man who betrayed a woman like that," he said nonchalantly.

Blackmer's eyes widened as he looked back at Rick. Whether it was the threatening response to his own veiled threat, or the fact that Rick knew more than Stuart would have thought, Blackmer was caught off guard.

As the crowd began to walk further down the exhibition, Rick began to move away from Stuart Blackmer. Evie's talking for the night was ending at that point and he moved towards her along with her father. Blackmer was smart enough to stay back for the rest of the evening.

"I saw that Stuart found you," Evie whispered to him when they caught a moment where they were relatively alone.

"Yeah. He definitely still wants you," Rick whispered back.

"Well, he'll be wanting forever then," Evie said, grinning at him. It took all of his self-control not to kiss her right then. And from the look she was giving him, she wanted to kiss him too.

They managed to steal a quick one in the corridor where Evie's room was on their way to bed that night. It wasn't enough but it would have to do.

"Miss Carnahan, the society of Bembridge Scholars has reviewed your application again and we believe there's a place for you amongst us," Mr. Ramstead said with a smile as they sat down in his office.

Evie grinned, and fought the urge to react more exuberantly.

"Thank you, Mr. Ramstead. It's an honor."

"I think the honor is ours. Especially when I consider that perhaps you were overlooked unfairly in the past," he said apologetically.

Evelyn was jumping for both vindication and joy in her mind but managed to keep her body in her chair. Then Mr. Ramstead began telling her all about how he was hoping she'd do research that coincided with the British Museum's projects in regards to Ancient Egypt, noting that Dr. Whitmore had already made a personal request for her. It was exciting news, but it gave her pause.

"So, I'll be working predominantly with the British Museum?" she asked.

"That's what we're hoping for. Will that be a problem?" Dr. Ramstead asked, seeming to sense that she was either confused or hesitant.

"No, not at all," Evie said. "I guess I was just presuming you'd probably have me working with the Museum of Antiquities since I've worked there a few years now."

"We considered the option, and we may want to send you back to Egypt at a later date, especially if more excavations at Hamunaptra start taking place. But for now, we'd like you based here in London."

Evie agreed, but part of her was disappointed. She had known it was a possibility, and it honestly had been nice being back in London. But Rick's face loomed in her mind. She knew he hadn't been planning on them staying in London long term. He hadn't asked about going back to Egypt, or leaving at all, but she was worried he was starting to get bored. He certainly wasn't thrilled at the idea of spending a lot of time amongst the scholars and socialites of London society.

She put this to one side while Mr. Ramstead went over the finer details of her appointment and placement. It was the work she had dreamt of for years, and she got more excited as he told her of possible projects she might be working on. But on the ride home, she started feeling nervous about Rick again, and berated herself for it.

'For heaven's sake girl! You have never once considered stopping any part of your career for a man, and you are not going to start now. No matter how in love you think you are, no matter how much the idea of him leaving hurts, you can't pause it for him. If he doesn't want to stay with you while you work in London, then he doesn't care as much as you thought!' She scolded herself.

'And it's not like he's leaving yet. He doesn't even know what's going on. Just tell him and see what happens first,' she told herself after a deep breath to stop herself getting too worked up.

When she got back to the house, she found Rick quicker than she expected, as he was in the corridor.

"Hey, how was your meeting?" he asked, quietly. He looked around and when he didn't see anyone, gave her lips a quick kiss when they met.

"Well," she said, smiling. "Mr. Ramstead said that after a review of my application, there's a place for me amongst the Bembridge Scholars."

Rick's eyes widened as he grinned at the news.

"That's great! That's everything you wanted, right?"

"Yes! Everything has finally come into place!" she said, happily.

"About time too," he said, reaching for her again, but he pulled back. Evie turned to see what he had, and Lily the maid was starting to dust in the corridor. Evie turned back to Rick.

"Meet me at the stables in an hour. We can go riding and I'll tell you more then," she whispered.

Rick nodded and turned back to his room to change into clothes more appropriate for horse riding.

Evie honestly would have been fine spending the entire afternoon kissing him, and letting his arms embrace her. Part of her just wanted to stop time and let them stay like this. She broke the kiss, but didn't break away from him. Rick kept holding her as she laid her head under his chin. He stroked her hair and played with her curls for a few minutes.

"Rick?" she asked, breaking the cozy silence.

"Hm?" was his reply.

She pulled away, but only just enough to look up at him. He looked down and she nearly got lost in his light blue eyes again. But she forced herself to ask the question she was afraid of the answer to.

"There's one thing I didn't get to tell you earlier."

"Okay?" he asked.

"The Bembridge Scholars want me to stay in London."

"Oh," Rick said, looking slightly confused.

"Yes, they want me to do work with the British Museum for now, rather than the Cairo Museum of Antiquities."

"I guess that makes sense, since they bought the artifacts from us and everything."

"There's more to it than that, even. It's just…I was wondering what your plans were, I guess."

"Plans?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. If you wanted to go back to Egypt or go somewhere else. We haven't talked much about that recently."

"I haven't really thought about whether or not I want to go back," Rick said, still looking surprised by the question.

Evie felt her mind easing slightly at his surprise, so she asked her next question.

"So...you wouldn't necessarily go back, or go somewhere else? If I stayed here?"

Rick shrugged, looking troubled by the idea.

"I don't have to. I don't really have anything I need to go back to in Egypt, or anywhere else. It's not like I have a real home right now. I haven't had a real home since..." He trailed off.

Evie felt sad when he said that. He hadn't been that forthcoming about his past, but she did know his father had abandoned him and his sisters in an orphanage, and that he'd essentially been living a nomadic life since he was a teenager. He'd never had any roots to put down, especially as both of his sisters had died young.

"Well, it doesn't have to be that way anymore. You can have a home now," she said, then wondered if she was presuming too much. "I mean, now that we have the money from the treasure, you can make a home wherever you like," she felt herself about to start rambling, as the idea of him having a home away from her was upsetting. But knowing she was about to ramble didn't stop her from doing it.

"I mean, don't feel like you have to leave us," Evie said, meaning 'me.' "You honestly could make your home with us if you wanted."

He looked back at her then, with a look that struck her as surprised, but only just. As though it were a small and pleasant surprise.

"Is...is that what you want?" he asked softly.

Evie bit her lip as she looked into his eyes. But there was only one answer to give, and she hoped it wasn't too forward.

"Yes," she admitted. "I would like that."

A wider smile graced his face and he leaned in to give her another kiss. When they broke apart, he suddenly reached into his trouser pocket.

"I guess it's time to ask you a question I've been sitting on," he said as he pulled out a small black box.

Evie's breath hitched as he opened it to reveal a small diamond ring.

"Evelyn, if you'll have me, I'd love to make my home with you. Will you marry me?"

It took Evie a moment to catch her breath and process what was happening. As she looked at the beautiful ring, and then into his eyes, she breathed out.

"Yes! Yes, of course I will!" She put her arms around his neck again and planted another kiss on his lips. She broke apart from him long enough to slide the ring onto her left hand, but then she started kissing him again. The kisses felt freer now that she knew he was hers to keep.

They stayed up on the hill until the sun began to set and a chill began to set in.

"We should get back," Evie said, almost regretfully. "They'll expect us for dinner."

"Should we tell your father tonight?" Rick said.

"We can, but only if you want to tell Granny at the same time. She's here tonight."

Rick shook his head and Evie laughed.

"Tomorrow, I think. Tomorrow will be best."

She kissed his lips one more time before they stood up and began packing up the remains of their picnic. As they rode back down to the house, she planned what she would say to her father. There was no choice now, even if she had wanted to keep it a secret longer. She couldn't very well get married without telling her father. And the news from the Bembridge Scholars would certainly make him happy, and she could tell everyone that tonight.

Stuart Blackmer looked around the pub as he walked inside. Thomas Carter was sitting at a table in the corner, sipping on a pint. Blackmer smiled as he approached his friend and sat down.

"You work fast, mate," Blackmer said. "You said this might take a while."

"Sometimes I get the information faster than I think I will," Carter explained. "You got lucky, my friend. Possibly very lucky, in fact."

"So, you found something on O'Connell?"

Carter reached into his satchel and pulled out a folder of papers. It was rather thick.

"Here's everything the Embassy could locate on him. Man has an interesting story to say the least."

"Interesting how?" Blackmer said as he began to flip through it. "That could be good or bad."

"Suppose it depends on your point of view for some of it. It's all in there, some of it's a bit tragic. Seems he and his siblings were abandoned by their father and from what we can tell, he's the only one of them still alive. Left the States for the last time when he was fifteen, and around then is where his story gets really interesting."

Blackmer began flipping through the pages of the documents Carter had brought. Carter stopped him when he got to a certain page and had him read it slower. A grin spread across Blackmer's face as he read it.

"There's no way Evelyn could know about this," Blackmer said.

"Well, even if she does, I guarantee you her father doesn't. Would probably shock him to know a man interested in his daughter, not to mention a guest in his own house, would be suspected of something like this."

"I've known Howard Carnahan most of my life," Blackmer said, a plan formulating. "If he knew this, he'd never have that man stay, no matter how many ancient ruins he's stumbled upon accidentally."

Blackmer got up, documents in hand.

"Not going to stay for a drink?" Carter asked.

"No, not tonight. Got to read through the rest of this. Thanks again for this, Carter. I owe you one," Blackmer said as he began walking toward the pub exit. He'd go pay Howard Carnahan a visit before lunch time tomorrow. O'Connell wouldn't know what hit him.


	8. Cat's Out of the Bag

AN: Hey all, here's chapter eight, hope you enjoy! A bit of a content warning on this one, there are non graphic discussions of child abuse. Also, if the story of the orphanage where Rick lived seems unlikely or overblown, it is based on true stories I have heard from orphanages in the early 20th century that were very tragic. And the only reason I chose a Catholic orphanage is because, with the last name O'Connell, Rick is clearly of Irish descent and in turn of the century America, Irish families were almost certainly Catholic, so to me it made sense that Rick might have been sent to a Catholic Church run orphanage. It is not intended to be a critique of the church or Catholicism in general.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Evie had to go to the British Museum the next morning, where she had a meeting with Dr. Whitmore regarding her first research assignments. She left the museum feeling excited about being back at work. Afterwards, she went to spend some time with Sarah, who was happy for a lunch away from school.

"So, how did your father react?" Sarah asked, after Evie finished telling her about the exhibition opening, as only her parents had attended.

"React?" Evie asked.

"To your news about Mr. O'Connell? You must have told him by now."

"Well, I would have, but…"

"Evie! You're playing with fire here," Sarah said.

"I know, I know. And I was going to tell him after the garden party. But then, Sir Gaston was having one of his…episodes, so Papa had to go and see him. He only just got back the day of the opening, and then Granny was over yesterday. So, we're telling him tonight."

"Well, good luck. Again, I guess. So, anything else new?"

"Actually," Evie began, and then paused. But she was bursting to tell someone and at this point, why not Sarah?

"What?"

"Well, you can't tell anyone else, not quite yet."

"More secrets?" Sarah said, looking interested but cautious.

"Hopefully not for long. But…well," Evie said hesitated again, but then reached into her pocket and took out the box with the ring in it. She opened it to show Sarah, whose eyes widened.

"Rick asked me to marry him yesterday. And I said yes. I just can't wear the ring yet, not until Papa knows."

"Oh my god, Evie, that's amazing!" she said, admiring the ring. "But he asked you before asking your father?"

Evie shrugged at that.

"As everyone, including myself, has pointed out, Rick and I are not the most traditional couple. And I like that he asked me first. Makes it feel more romantic, and less like a business transaction."

Sarah nodded, and sipped her tea.

"But what if your father says no? Not that I think he will, but you never know," Sarah asked.

"Sarah, I'm twenty-three years old. I don't need his permission. I mean, of course I want Papa to be happy about it, but I'm old enough that only my consent to the marriage matters."

"Would you though? Marry him if your father didn't approve?"

Evie thought about it. Marrying a man your father disapproved of was a big deal in their society. Women were often cut off from their inheritances, and sometimes cut off from their families afterwards. But her father wasn't a cruel man, it wasn't likely to be an issue.

"I think I would," she said with conviction.

"Well, you're a braver woman than I am," Sarah admitted with a smile, raising her teacup to her friend.

Stuart Blackmer arrived at the Carnahan's house a little after ten in the morning. He was greeted by Wilson, who looked confused in seeing him, but let him in.

"I'm sorry Mr. Blackmer, Mr. Carnahan is out for the moment. He had some business with tenants on the estate."

"Oh, I'm happy to wait for him, it is a matter of some urgency."

"Alright, well, I'll show you to the parlor. Mrs. Carnahan is also here, so he may need to see her first."

"Oh, that's no problem," Stuart said, a smile coming onto his face as he followed the butler to the parlor. This was working out better than he expected. If Mr. Carnahan wasn't as horrified as Stuart thought he should be, Mrs. Carnahan certainly would be.

And judging by her smile when he entered the parlor, she would be happier to talk to him.

"Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Blackmer has stopped by to see Mr. Carnahan, is it alright for him to wait in here?"

"Oh, of course, Mr. Blackmer, please sit down. Thank you, Wilson."

The butler left the room and Mrs. Carnahan began speaking to her unexpected guest.

"Well, it's lovely to see you again so soon," she said. "Have you come to see Evelyn, I'm afraid she seems to have gone out?"

"Actually, ma'am, I'm here to see Mr. Carnahan. I'm afraid this isn't exactly a social call; I have something I need to discuss with him. It's a bit urgent."

"Oh, nothing too serious I hope?" she asked, looking confused.

"Well, I'm afraid it could be," he said. "It's about your American house guest."

"Oh? What about him?"

Stuart knew he had to play this carefully.

"I just thought something seemed, rather, off, about him and his story, I guess. I don't know, something didn't feel right. And after seeing that Evelyn counts him as a close friend now," he continued, "I'm sure it seems a bit odd, but in spite of everything I still care for her, and I wouldn't want to see her hurt by some scoundrel."

"No, of course you wouldn't."

Stuart was about to go on when the door opened and Howard Carnahan walked inside, looking cautious and slightly confused. Stuart stood back up as he entered and greeted his former almost father-in-law a bit too confidently.

"Mr. Blackmer. It's nice to see you again," Howard responded, shaking the man's hand reluctantly. "May I ask why you've come?"

"He was just telling me that he was concerned about your houseguest, and I for one, am interested to hear why."

"Yes, I was just explaining to Mrs. Carnahan, something is off about that fellow. And if it weren't for the fact that your daughter seems to consider him a close friend, I might have just let the feeling go."

"And yet you felt you couldn't," Howard inferred.

"Yes. I went to see a friend of mine that works at the American Embassy. I asked him if he had any background on a Richard O'Connell from Chicago. And, he found this," Stuart handed Howard over the documents.

Howard began to look through them curiously.

"Richard James O'Connell, born 1902, second child of Jack and Ellen O'Connell. Mother died 1912 giving birth to a stillborn child, Father's whereabouts unknown after 1913. Two sisters, Bridget Mary and Kathleen Ruth, also both deceased."

"Yes, his family history does seem a bit tragic. But if you read further, well, I think you'll understand why I came to you about it. He's a wanted man."

"What? Howard!" Mrs. Carnahan nearly shouted.

"Mother," he said, exasperated.

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find anything like this," Stuart said.

"I'm sure you weren't," Howard said as though he didn't actually believe that.

"But these documents show it all. You can read it for yourself, but apparently back in 1917, he and a few other adolescents were suspected of burning down the orphanage they lived in and killing two of the nuns who worked there. They disappeared before they could be questioned by police, but other children said they saw them running from the attic where the fire originated."

"Good lord!" the old woman said, getting up to take a look at the papers herself.

"I know, it's quite shocking, but it's all here," Stuart said.

Howard's eyes widened as he continued to scan the report.

"I just thought you ought to know. Especially as, from what I hear, he and Evelyn seem as though they're becoming rather close friends. I hardly think she'd know of this though, and I felt you all should."

"Yes," Howard said, concerned. "I must admit, this is rather disturbing." Then the other part of what Stuart had said registered. "What exactly do you mean 'from what you hear,' what exactly have you heard?"

"I spoke to one of your maids at the garden party, she mentioned that the two of them seemed rather close. She wouldn't say anymore though."

"Nor should she have," Howard said, looking annoyed.

"Oh, you mustn't be vexed with her, Mr. Carnahan," Stuart said, quickly. "I initiated the conversation. But it sounded like there was more she was reluctant to say."

"Which maid was this?" Howard asked.

"Lily," he answered.

"Alright, well Mr. Blackmer, you've certainly given me a lot to think about," Howard said. "I'll handle this from here, thank you. But I'm afraid it's now a family matter, so…"

"I can see myself out," Stuart said, knowing he was dismissed. He reached for the documents, but Howard held tight to them.

"I'll hang onto these, thank you. In case I need to read further, you understand."

Stuart reluctantly nodded, but couldn't think of a good enough reason to insist he get them back. But Mrs. Carnahan was horrified enough that if he couldn't use them to further report to the American authorities if necessary, the old woman would probably do the honors for him. He left the room and the manor, hoping he'd see the fallout from this soon.

After their unexpected visitor left, Howard called for Wilson. His mother, as usual, was in a tizzy.

"You've had a wanted murderer in this house and didn't even know it! Spending time with your daughter, didn't you look into him at all!"

"I don't generally do a background check on every person my children bring to visit," Howard said as Wilson entered the room. "Ah Wilson, could you please find Lily and bring her here please, I need to ask her about something."

"Oh, of course sir," Wilson said, looking confused and went off to locate the housemaid. She was just cleaning a few rooms away so it was only a few minutes before she entered, looking very apprehensive.

"Lily, thank you for coming in," Howard said.

"What can I do for you sir?"

"Lily, at the garden party, did you happen to speak to Mr. Stuart Blackmer?"

"Well, yes sir, I did," she said. "He said hello and seemed to want to chat."

"About Mr. O'Connell?"

"Yes, sir," she said.

"And what did you tell him?"

She looked nervous.

"Lily, I need to know what's been said."

"Well, he was very interested in how long Mr. O'Connell was staying here. I only said I didn't know. He said he was concerned that so little seemed known about the man, and I just said that he seems a nice man and as far as guests go is no trouble…" she trailed off, remembering what else she had said, but wasn't sure if she should say it to him.

"Was there anything else?"

"Well, I did say that Miss Carnahan seems especially fond of him," she said, nervously.

"What have you seen or heard that leads you to believe that?" Mrs. Carnahan couldn't stay quiet any longer.

"Um, well we all saw them spending a lot of time together. At the garden party he seemed to like talking to her more than to Mr. Jonathan and his friends. And she has taken him riding on the estate more than once."

"Alone? You allowed this?" Mrs. Carnahan chastised her son.

"I can't control Evelyn's every movement, Mother. And this doesn't exactly sound sordid."

Lily looked at the floor nervously and Howard picked up on it.

"Unless there's something else, Lily?" he asked.

"Well," Lily looked at Wilson nervously.

"Lily, please tell Mr. Carnahan the truth, you won't be in trouble."

"Well, you'd have to ask Ginny, the young scullery maid. She didn't say exactly what, but she seems to think Mr. O'Connell, may not be…completely honorable."

"Bring the girl upstairs Wilson," Mrs. Carnahan said, before her son could say either way what he'd prefer.

Howard sent Lily back to work with instructions to keep the conversation private, while knowing that that was probably unlikely. Wilson came back a few minutes later with a very nervous girl in tow.

"Ginny, Mr. Carnahan would like to ask you about something you saw," Wilson said to the girl, gently. "You're not in any trouble, but he needs to know the truth."

"Okay," she said.

"Ginny, Lily said you might have seen something that made you feel Mr. O'Connell was…less than honorable, shall we say," Mr. Carnahan said, wanting to be sensitive to the young girl as she was probably only thirteen or fourteen. "I'd like you to tell me what it was."

Ginny gulped.

"Well, sir, it was a bit before the garden party. I'd gone upstairs to start doing the fires, just like every morning. And I saw a woman leaving the bachelor's corridor. It looked like she'd come from Mr. O'Connell's room."

"Well, that would have been the only room with someone in it," Wilson said.

"Did you recognize the woman?" Howard said. "Was it perhaps one of the maids?"

"Mr. Carnahan," Wilson said, but Howard interrupted.

"Come on Wilson, you and I both know it wouldn't be the first time a maid in this house was seduced by one of the men staying here," Howard said, remembering the plethora of Jonathan's friends who had stayed with them over the years. Several of whom he'd heard his son explicitly tell to stay away from his baby sister.

"No sir, she wasn't a maid," Ginny said.

"Maybe a woman from town, then," Howard said, not wanting to acknowledge the thought that was trying to penetrate his brain.

"No sir, it was, well…"

"Go on Ginny," Wilson encouraged her.

"It was Miss Carnahan," Ginny said, quickly. "I saw her go around the corner and back towards her room."

Howard's mother chose that moment to sit back on the settee and looked like she wanted to faint. Howard dismissed the maid and told her she was to keep the conversation private, as he had done with Lily. Wilson escorted the girl back to the kitchens.

"You can't let that man stay here anymore Howard," Mrs. Carnahan insisted. "He has to go. If Mr. Blackmer's found this, it's only a matter of time before someone else does. The scandal that would fall on us! We're practically harboring an American fugitive."

"Mother, he's wanted for questioning, it isn't an arrest warrant," Howard reminded her. "But I agree, none of this looks good.

"He's also apparently seducing your daughter, and I'd think that alone would be enough for you. What on earth was she thinking, going to his room at night?" She went on, sounding more scandalized by the second.

Howard Carnahan considered himself to be a predominantly progressive man of his time. He'd been more than happy to send his daughter to university, and encouraged her in finding a career path more than in finding a husband. He had supported the Parliament Act to allow women to be elected, and was outspoken in his belief that women should have the same rights to vote in elections as men. He knew his daughter to be clever, a good judge of character, and capable of looking after herself.

And yet, in spite of this, his mother's point did lodge itself in his head. He wasn't prone to anger, but if he was honest in the moment, he wasn't sure if he was angrier at O'Connell for having a clandestine (and from the maid's story, entirely inappropriate) relationship with Evie, or at Evie for keeping it a secret in the first place. This just didn't seem like her, she was sensible, always had been!

He escorted his mother out of the house, and had Gilbert drive her home. Then, he found out from Wilson that Mr. O'Connell was indeed at the house. Evelyn still wasn't back and he wanted to get this over with before she came home. The two of them could have words then.

He walked up the stairs to the bachelor's corridor and to the room where his houseguest had been staying, his annoyance rising with each stop. Howard took a deep breath before he knocked, willing himself to be civil, trying not to imagine what might have gone on in this room.

The door opened, and O'Connell stood before him.

"I've had a visitor today and they gave me this. It's a report from the United States Embassy," Howard said, handing over the documents. O'Connell reluctantly took them, looking confused.

Howard watched as the younger man read through the document. His face wasn't very expressive as he went through it, and when he looked up, he was only guarded.

"You can imagine my surprise at learning this about a houseguest. Particularly one who has apparently also been seducing my daughter right under my nose."

Rick finally spoke.

"Excuse me, I haven't seduced anyone."

"One of my maids reported seeing her coming from the direction of your room very early one morning."

The younger man seemed surprised by this, and didn't appear to have an answer. Howard was tempted to say more, then decided it was better to just end all of this quickly before it could get worse.

"Look, I'd rather not cause any scenes over this. It won't do any of us any favors, but even if I was inclined to let you stay knowing these things, my mother will certainly want to report your location to US authorities. I won't do that, and I'll make sure she doesn't do that, provided you leave quietly. I'll give you thirty minutes to gather your belongings and be on your way. Otherwise I will have to have my staff escort you out."

O'Connell seemed to be weighing his options, and must have come to the conclusion that fighting about this probably wouldn't end in his favor, so he merely nodded.

"Alright. Who happened to give you this?"

"Stuart Blackmer," he said. O'Connell didn't look very surprised.

"Does Evelyn know?"

"About the report? Not yet, but you can be sure she will. And I'm sure she'll be shocked," Howard said, sounding very confident.

"Okay," he said. "Thirty minutes?"

"Yes, I'll give you thirty minutes."

Howard shut the door to the room and checked the time on his watch so he'd know when to check the man had left.

Rick had gotten through battle after battle partly on wits, partly on luck, and partly on some basic common sense. Arguing with Mr. Carnahan, when the man was the owner of the house, a man of privilege and means, and who was convinced his daughter may have been dishonored, wasn't a smart move. Better to leave the house and regroup. Plus, while he'd hoped that the incident at the orphanage would never come up in his life again, he knew it didn't exactly make him look good. It was possible Evie would have second thoughts after learning about it. If he didn't know the circumstances and heard it about someone else, he might jump to conclusions too.

He threw his clothes into his bag, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk in his room. He scribbled a note to Evie to tell her what had happened and where he'd be. Leaving himself some time, he checked the corridor was empty as he left the room, and the ones he followed to Evelyn's room. He opened the door slowly to make sure there were no maids cleaning inside and found it empty. He left the note on her bed, and then made his way back to the main staircase, and out the door. He headed down towards the public house where he could stay for at least a few days.

Evie arrived home in the mid-afternoon in a great mood. That only lasted until she got up to her bedroom, and saw a folded sheet of paper on her bed. Curious, she picked it up. It said her name, in Rick's writing. Confused as to why he'd leave a note in her room, she opened it. A storm of emotions passed through her as she read it.

 _Evelyn,_

 _It looks like our friend Blackmer was a bit more suspicious than we thought. He looked me up at the US Embassy and found out some stuff about my past that I was hoping might stay there. I can explain all of it to you, and you can decide for yourself how you feel about it. But he told your father and grandmother, and apparently told them there was something between us. Your father asked me to leave the house, and did not want me here when you got back. I'm going down to the public house nearby; I'll get a room there for a bit. If you want to talk, just send word when you can come and I'll wait for you. Or I can come by the museum if that's better for you._

 _I love you,_

 _Rick_

Evie was too stunned to move for a moment. He was gone. Her father had…thrown him out? Had he really been that angry? What exactly had Stuart found out? How bad was it?

She knew Rick had a past. He hadn't been super forthcoming about a lot of it, but he'd answered any questions she'd had honestly at least. Or as far as she knew. But she trusted that at least what he had told had been the truth.

As her shock wore off, she found herself getting angry at her father. How could he just throw Rick out, without even waiting to talk to her about it? She thought her grandmother probably had something to do with it, but he didn't have to listen to her!

She left her bedroom and made her way downstairs. She saw Wilson, and called out to him from the stairwell.

"Wilson, where's my father?"

"Oh, Miss Carnahan," he said, turning around. "I believe he's in the sitting room," he answered, looking at her a bit nervously. But Evie didn't have time to think about why. She walked there as fast as she could without running and barely stopped herself from slamming the door as she walked in.

"Evelyn," her father said. "You and I need to discuss something."

"The fact that you told Mr. O'Connell to leave today?" she asked angrily, brandishing the note Rick had left on her bed.

"It's related to that, yes," he said, looking surprised that she already knew. "Apparently you've been carrying on a clandestine relationship the entire time he's been here?"

Evie took a deep breath. It was time to face up to it.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," she said. "I just…I wanted you to get to know him first," she offered as an excuse. "But I hardly think that's reason to throw him off the estate."

"It is when I hear my daughter's reputation being threatened," he explained, his voice rising slightly.

"Excusing me?"

"You may have managed to go over my head, but the staff has noticed. Going riding together alone,"

"You knew about that!" Evie reminded him, getting irritated.

"I certainly didn't know about any late night…fraternization."

Evie's heart skipped when she heard that.

"What?"

"The scullery maid saw you leaving the bachelor's corridor one morning. In your night clothes. I'm not really sure what other conclusion I can come to."

"It's not what you think," Evie said, although she knew it would be hard to explain what had actually gone on that night.

"Don't treat me like I was born yesterday, Evelyn," her father said sternly. This made her angrier.

"Well, don't treat me like I'm still twelve years old! I'm a grown woman, it's no one's business but mine how I choose to conduct my relationships! Honestly, that's why I didn't tell you. I kept it private so that I didn't have people tailing us constantly and interfering in case, heaven forbid, we want to sit close to each other, or have a private conversation!"

They stared at each other for a moment, then Evie went on.

"I honestly kept telling myself I was being foolish, that I should just tell you, that you'd understand. But if that was enough to get you to throw him off the estate perhaps my instincts were better than I thought," she continued.

"That wasn't the only reason," he said. "I know you're fond of the man…"

"I love him," she declared, almost surprising herself at her boldness.

Howard was also surprised.

"You barely know him, you can't be in love with him."

"I am," she said, and decided just to let the ball drop this time. She pulled the ring out of her pocket and put it on her left hand. "And he's asked me to marry him. I've said yes."

"I won't allow that," he stated, looking stunned.

"You don't need to. I'm over twenty-one, I no longer need your consent to marry."

"Evelyn, you can't marry him, you don't really know who he is! What he might have done!"

"What are you even talking about?" she asked.

"Stuart Blackmer came to see me today," and whatever Evie had expected her father to say, it wasn't that. "And he gave me some information about Mr. O'Connell."

"You can't possibly take anything Stuart has to say seriously!" Evie said, incredulous. "For heaven's sake, you must at least question his motivations!"

"He brought me a report from the US Embassy, Evie, I can't just ignore it," he handed her the documents. "Mr. O'Connell's been accused of arson and murder since the war years."

Shocked to silence for a moment by that revelation, Evie took the papers her father was holding out to her and scanned them.

"I'm sure there must be an explanation," Evie said, after she read through it. "Did you bother to ask before you told him to leave?"

"He didn't offer an explanation."

"Did you ask? Or did you just make him leave?"

"I don't feel like I need one Evelyn," her father said. "You know I can't have someone like that staying here. And I certainly can't welcome him into the family."

"Why? Because Granny's afraid of a scandal? That's what this is really about isn't it? But that didn't bother you when you brought your Egyptian wife home."

"Your mother wasn't accused of murder. Nor was there any reason to suspect her of scandal!"

"I seem to remember that Jonathan's birthday is only six months after you and Mama's anniversary Papa, so at least on one supposed 'scandal,' I hardly think you'd be in a place to judge him!" Evie said, annoyed by the hypocrisy she'd been sure her father didn't possess. "I'm going to marry him whether you like it or not, so get used to the idea."

"You want to marry a man who once set fire to an orphanage? That doesn't sound like who I ever imagined you might have chosen."

Evie shook her head and took a breath to calm down.

"I want to marry a man I've fallen in love with, and who I trust with my life. Now, I can admit that this story sounds bad, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him tell his side before I even consider giving him this beautiful ring back."

She turned and began walking out of the library, unwilling to discuss this further for now. Howard watched her walk away, not sure what to make of everything he'd just heard.

As Evie walked through the foyer, Jonathan was coming in the door.

"Were you here when it happened?"

Jonathan's confused expression told her no, he wasn't.

"Papa made Rick leave," she said. "He found out about us, and apparently Mr. Blackmer found out something from Rick's past and brought some information about it to Papa. So, he's down the road, I'm going to go see him tonight."

"What seriously? What did Rick do, kill someone?" Jonathan was curious.

"Well, allegedly, it's possible."

Jonathan's eyes widened.

"I'm going to ask him about it obviously," Evie said, sighing. "That's why I'm going to see him."

"Okay," Jonathan said, and then his eyes fell on her hand. "Wait, Evie, is that?"

She saw what he was looking at and held up her hand.

"Yes, Rick asked me to marry him."

"Wow, congratulations Old Mum. I wasn't sure he'd do it this soon."

"Did he tell you?"

"Not at all," Jonathan said.

"Well, obviously I've said yes, and Papa isn't exactly thrilled about it right now."

"Well, if he thinks Rick's a murderer, I can't really blame the man," Jonathan said. "But if it's all a misunderstanding, which knowing O'Connell is likely, I think he'll come around."

"I hope so," Evie said. "I'll give him some time alone to think about it while I talk to Rick tonight. Just tell him I went out and I'll be back tonight when I don't show up for dinner, okay?"

"Alright," Jonathan agreed. "I think it's just him and I tonight then. I'll see what he's thinking."

"Thank you," she said, gratefully as she went upstairs to change.

The public house wasn't used to women walking in unescorted and the bar keep looked at her strangely, as did several of the other men inside. She was relieved to see Rick sitting at a table at the back, a pint and a meat pie in front of him. At least she wouldn't have to awkwardly ask for his room or wait for him to come down.

He looked up in surprise as she walked up to him.

"Evie?" he asked, standing up.

"Hi," she said. "I needed to see you; I didn't want to wait until tomorrow."

He pulled a chair out for her and she sat down.

"Can I buy you a drink? Or a pie, the steak and ale is really good if you're hungry?"

"That sounds good, I haven't eaten yet," she said. Rick went up the bar and put in the order. When he sat down, Evie spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Rick," she said. He seemed surprised, and took her hand.

"What for?" he said.

"We should have just been honest from the beginning," Evie said. "I shouldn't have let Jonathan get to me."

"Maybe. But I think Blackmer would have done what he wanted either way. And it's not like I can erase what he dug up."

"Yes, I think my father was a little shocked," Evie admitted.

"You weren't?" Rick asked, his eyebrows raised doubtfully.

"Okay, a little. But he should have heard you out at least," she said. "He was wrong to just throw you out like that."

"You're avoiding asking me, aren't you?" Rick asked, knowingly.

"I am curious. What exactly happened?"

Her meal and drink were brought over, and she was hungry enough to allow herself a bite. Rick sighed and began his story.

"It's better if I start back a little. I already told you about coming back from Cairo and going to an orphanage in New York, right?"

"Yes, I remember. You and your sister Bridget were sent there."

"Yeah, two missionaries escorted us back across the Atlantic and brought us to St. Joseph's Orphanage in New York City. It was…it was an orphanage. It was Catholic run, so it was staffed mostly with nuns, and the priests came and visited now and again. I lived there until I was fifteen. Bridget managed to find herself a job when she was sixteen, and a room at a boarding house, so she got to leave then."

"They let her leave that young?" Evie was surprised.

"They needed the space, and she was employed. She worked for a seamstress until she died two years later. She died before any of this happened."

Evie took a few more bites of her meat pie, and Rick continued.

"Now, not all nuns are frightening old hags," he said. "Some of the nuns who looked after us were very nice and caring women. But, then there were the others. Sister Cecilia, Sister Maria, Sister Catherine, they…they could make Imhotep look friendly."

Evie put her fork down, eyes widened.

"Yeah. I honestly think a few of them took sick pleasure in harsh discipline. When the roster had more than one of them on duty at a time, it was miserable. They'd beat us for the slightest infraction, worked us like crazy. Kids would be locked in closets for hours, sometimes a whole day, just for spilling milk on the floor. As time went on, the other nuns moved on and the younger ones who replaced them were really too scared to do anything so it got worse."

"Did they harm you?" Evie asked, rather horrified by the few details he'd given.

"I got locked in the closets a few times, got more than a few beatings with the paddle or even a horse whip," he said as though it were nothing. But she could tell it was. "Honestly, that wasn't the worst of it though. That stuff alone, I might have just suffered through it until I could escape or age out. My friend Izzy and I did try a few times after Bridget left, and even more after she died, but we always got dragged back by police."

"It's too bad Bridget couldn't take you with her when she left," Evie said.

"She wanted to, but she was considered too young to look after me by herself, even if I was already thirteen," he said.

"What happened with the nuns that was worse?" Evie asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

Rick took a sip of his beer and another bite of his dinner.

"Kids would just, disappear sometimes. Some were taken out for punishments and just, never came back. They would never tell us what happened to them, just that they wouldn't be living with us anymore. My friend Marcy swore she saw one boy choked to death."

Evie had another bite of pie halfway to her mouth, and put it slowly back on the plate.

"What? No one did anything about it?"

"Who would have? The police wouldn't have thought it possible for priests and nuns to do these things. A bunch of poor orphans against the Church? There was nothing that would have been done. And they took pleasure in reminding us of that. And then there was the one time that I was the one that they nearly choked to death. Courtesy of Sister Maria, she really hated my guts."

"Good God."

"I've got a tough neck, as you saw," he said.

"Yes, I did," she said.

"So, one night after that, Izzy and I were in our usual hideout in the orphanage attic. Marcy joined us. Izzy and I had found some sticks of dynamite that we were looking at. We were just searching through to see what we could find, and came across them. I still don't know how old they were, what they were for, or if any of the priests had ever known they were there. It was probably left over from when they were building the streets up or something."

"The Embassy papers said you were wanted for questioning in arson…" Evie said, realizing where this was going.

"Yeah," Rick said. "And we'd also found reports of some of the children who had died. One of them was Marcy's younger brother, he'd supposedly drowned on an outing to the park one day. We never believed that, but there was no proof."

"And you found proof up there?"

"Not exactly proof, but there were letters to and from the Archdiocese that suggested some of the deaths weren't an accident. We started talking about whether or not we could hand it in to someone, and that's when two of the worst nuns, Sister Cecilia and Sister Maria, must have heard us on their rounds and found us up there, with the letters."

"I'm guessing they reacted badly."

"You do that English thing of understating bad things very well," Rick said with a small smirk. "And yes. They cornered us and after they threatened us, Marcy tried to race past them with the letters but they grabbed her. I grabbed her hand and managed to pull her back, but as we pushed past, they had Izzy, and nearly had me, but I managed to kick one of their knees so she released me. I still had one of the sticks of dynamite in my hands and Izzy threw me a match he was saving for a cigarette. I lit it and threatened to throw it at them if they didn't let us go. They did let Marcy go, but when we got to the door they started after us, so I just, without even really thinking, threw it at them just before it went off," Rick said. "The attic was made of wood so it caused the fire. We raced downstairs and sounded the alarm, and the other nuns on duty ushered the rest of the kids out."

"The Embassy report said you were wanted for questioning," Evie repeated. "So, they didn't arrest you?"

"No. After the evacuation Izzy and I decided to run for it. We knew once they found the bodies that we'd be blamed. And, I did throw the dynamite so I am to blame. And Marcy had dropped the letters we'd found and we figured they burned, so there was no reason to stick around. The three of us hid around the city for a few days and stole a few wallets until we had enough money to buy tickets on the next ship out of New York. That was when I came through London the last time."

"What happened to them? Marcy and Izzy?"

"Izzy went down to France with me, and then North Africa. I think he's somewhere near Cairo now, but it's been awhile since I saw him. Marcy stayed in England. We lost touch after the war, so I don't know if she's still here or not."

Evie nodded and took a sip of her drink.

"So, that's it," Rick said. "That's what the report is about. As far as the United States government is concerned, I'm a suspected arsonist and murderer."

"Is there no way to prove the truth? You were trying to save yourselves from something horrific, not to mention other children," Evie said. "I hardly think you should be condemned for that."

"Well, I'm glad you think so," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "But again, it was the word of orphans against the clergy. Most of the cops in that area were Irish and Italian, they were Catholic, they wouldn't have wanted to believe us. And I don't think that will have changed, even if it's been nearly a decade."

"Well, regardless, thank you. For telling me," Evie said. "So, I guess you won't be taking me to visit America anytime soon?"

"Probably never, if that's alright? Everything I want is already here anyway," he said with a smile. She smiled back at him and ate another bite of her pie.

"I was reading the newspaper today and saw that there's a house for sale close to the museum," Rick said. "I thought we might take a look at it if you were interested," he continued, showing her the paper he'd been reading before she came in.

Evie quickly scanned the advert and smiled. It had several bedrooms and bathrooms, and she would have plenty of space to create her own library. It seemed like it would even be partially furnished so they wouldn't have to buy everything.

"It sounds lovely. When did you want to go and see it?"

"Tomorrow? I can call in the morning, we should be able to get there by afternoon."

"I'll meet you here and we can go," she said, leaning over take his hand. She squeezed it and wanted to kiss him, but a sudden noise from the other side of the pub reminded her they weren't alone. It seemed two drunks were about to get into a brawl, so Rick stood up and took her hand.

"I'll walk you back, if you want."

"Well, not the whole way," she said sadly. "But to the entrance of the estate would be lovely."

They walked through the crowd on the way out and then made their way up the road. It was late enough that Rick insisted on walking her to the door. He'd just start walking back before she went inside. She agreed. Her father hadn't explicitly said he couldn't step foot on the property at all. After a quick kiss goodnight that she had to stop herself from prolonging, Evie went inside and Rick turned back to walk back down the road. She quietly made her way upstairs, not wanting to talk to her father just yet.

While this had been going on, Howard and Jonathan Carnahan had been having dinner in relative silence. When the servants exited the dining room, Jonathan finally broke it.

"Look, Papa, I don't know what those papers said," he began.

"Son, I'm going to be honest, I don't really want to discuss it right now," the man sounded tired.

"Okay," Jonathan relented. "But I got to know him in Egypt too. He may be rough around the edges, he may be a cowboy, but he's a good man. And he loves her," he said. The last statement caused his father to look up in confusion.

"Sorry?"

"O'Connell. Whatever he might have done or not done, whomever he was in the past, I can promise you, he loves Evie. You don't need to worry about her with him. He's genuine, and I don't think there's anything he wouldn't do for her. And she loves him, deeply."

"You seem awfully sure of this," Howard said.

"I saw them bond while we were in Egypt. I wouldn't have thought he'd ever be the type she'd go for, but…they're in love. And you know how Evie is when she really wants something. She'll go to the ends of the Earth to get it; you wouldn't be able to stop her."

"That is true. But just because she wants him, doesn't mean he's good for her."

"Well…" Jonathan hesitated but then decided he had nothing to lose. "He did save her life. And she saved his."

"What do you mean?"

"Papa, we haven't been completely honest about Hamunaptra. A lot more happened than just a dig. We found more than just artifacts."

Howard put his fork down, looking both cautious and interested.

"The legends were true. The place is cursed, or was anyway. And when I said that Evie and I wouldn't have made it back alive if not for O'Connell, I meant it."

"What happened?"

"Get ready. It's a bit of a long story really."


	9. Last Minute Plans

Aaaahhh! Where have I been? Sorry everyone, I know it's been much longer than usual, I essentially missed my July update. Real life got in the way, but this chapter is finally done. This story is starting to wrap up, maybe one or two chapters left. Thanks to everyone who who's stuck around, it's been just about a year since I posted the first chapter (I think).

CHAPTER NINE

Rick woke up to a knock on the door of his room. Wondering who on earth would be here at this hour when he hadn't ordered anything, he quickly put on a dressing gown and opened the door.

"Good morning sir, this just came for you," the man who ran the public house said, handing him a letter.

"Oh, thank you," Rick said, taking it. The man nodded and went back down the corridor. Rick shut the door and started opening the envelope, thinking it might be from Evie.

It wasn't. It was from Mrs. Carnahan, asking him to come around that afternoon. Well, it wasn't really asking. It seemed more like a summons, really. She was insisting he come so they could talk.

Rick was tempted to ignore the old woman's note. She had clearly made up her mind about him and he didn't see the point of wasting time trying to change it. Plus, Evie had made it clear she would marry him with or without family approval.

But all that aside, he didn't want to risk making things worse for Evie before they could get married. So, he left the pub to walk over there a few hours later, willing himself not to lose his temper. He'd suffer through it and then get out of there. It wouldn't be the first time uppity rich people had spent time insulting him.

Mrs. Carnahan's butler brought him into the parlor where she was sitting, waiting for him.

"Please, do sit down," she said, gesturing to the arm chair across from her.

He did so, without speaking.

"I assume you're wondering why I've summoned you here? As my son has already asked you to leave?"

Rick was tempted to just stare at her until she got to the point, but settled on a short reply.

"Well, I assumed it wasn't a social call," he said dryly.

"No, you are correct, it is not," she answered. She either didn't pick up on his sarcasm, or was choosing to ignore it. "I want to know what exactly it is you want with my granddaughter."

Rick just stared at her, turning his head a little in confusion. This sounded like a typical "what are your intentions?" but he sensed that wasn't what she meant. Especially as Evie's father could have easily covered that had he wanted to.

"I'll be perfectly blunt," she continued. "My granddaughter is pretty, but hardly the type of woman that a man like you finds appealing. Unless there is another contributing factor."

Now Rick was silent more out of surprise than anything else. But only for a moment.

"And what exactly does that mean?" he asked.

"Obviously, you've learned that my son intends to leave Evelyn quite an inheritance, so..."

"No actually, I hadn't," Rick interrupted harshly, and it was true. Based on the house alone, it was obvious Evie would probably inherit some money when her father died but Rick really hadn't thought about it, nor had she brought it up. "She never mentioned it."

"She didn't have to. For whatever else you are, you aren't a stupid man. At the very least, you had to guess when you saw the house."

Rick rolled his eyes.

"I was already with her then," he reminded the old woman.

Mrs. Carnahan stared at him. Then she continued as if he hadn't spoken. He guessed he may as well not have.

"My son is a bit unorthodox for an English man and intends to leave his daughter half his estate. I can't imagine that having absolutely no influence on you whatsoever."

Rick didn't bother answering this time, just continued to stare at her. He considered just getting up and leaving. Evie wouldn't hold it against him. Just as he was about to stand and do just that, the old woman said something that made him pause.

"I mean, why else would you suddenly propose to her? I see nothing else to motivate you."

"Well I'm guessing you won't believe 'I love her,'" Rick said dryly.

"Why would I? As I said before, she isn't the type of woman that a man like you finds appealing."

Rick raised his eyebrows.

"And why is that?" he asked with an undertone of sarcasm, expecting to be insulted.

He was unpleasantly surprised when it wasn't him the old woman began to insult.

"I should think it would be obvious. A man of the world such as yourself, attracted to a bookish librarian who has all the makings of a spinster? She isn't interested in keeping a man happy, and she's far too pigheaded for any man to put up with unless he's getting something else out of it."

Rick's eyes widened and this time he remained silent more out of shock. He felt his anger starting to seethe, and when the old woman didn't speak again, he found some words.

"A bookish librarian with the makings of a spinster?" he repeated loudly, somewhat dumbfounded.

Mrs. Carnahan looked taken aback, either by his volume or by the fact that he was nearly spitting at her. Rick neither knew nor cared.

"Is that really all you think Evie is?" he asked, daring to use the nickname her family used for the first time, his voice rising in anger. "Do you know her at all? Have you ever even met her?"

Mrs. Carnahan now looked more shocked as he continued.

"If you think that there's nothing about her that anyone could find attractive, you have to be blind, deaf, and dumb. She's not only gorgeous, she's clever, she's funny, and she's kind. She's the smartest person I've ever met, smart enough to know not to take anything someone like you says seriously. But you know what? She does. She pretends to ignore the cruel jabs you take at her, but they do hurt her."

"Well, I have never," she seemed to have recovered from her shock but Rick wasn't having it.

"Don't even try to deny it, everyone knows it. They're just too polite to say it to you," Rick snapped. "You might think you're being subtle, but everyone knows what knows exactly what you mean. But honestly, I'm glad she isn't like most of the women you seem to know. If what I wanted was a wife who would be satisfied with living a dull life where all she does is sit around, gossip about people she doesn't like, and pay calls to those same people, I wouldn't want to marry her."

Mrs. Carnahan was now reasonably stunned, and Rick took that opportunity to stand up and walk out the door, manners be damned.

Rick stormed from the room and turned left to see himself out so fast that he never noticed exactly who was near the right side of the door when he stormed out. The flash he did catch made him think it was just the butler. It wasn't.

It didn't matter much in that moment though. Howard Carnahan was too stunned by what he had heard to call out after the loud and brash American his daughter was in love with.

Rick wandered away from Mrs. Carnahan's house quickly, hardly paying attention to where he was walking. The old woman's preposterous words echoed in his brain and he had to fight the urge to go back and yell at her some more.

He eventually hailed a taxi to take him into the city, figuring he'd go to see Evie at the museum. She was avoiding her father, and so was doing a lot of work as an excuse to not be home.

As he began to approach the British Museum, Rick's eyes fell on a man walking quickly down the large stone steps. It was Stuart Blackmer. He got to the end of the steps and walked to the road and took a right turn.

Without a particular plan in mind, Rick, instead of turning towards the museum, walked after Blackmer. While it didn't always come second nature to him, he knew how to follow someone inconspicuously. He pulled the brim of his hat down just enough so if Blackmer turned around he wouldn't recognize the man walking behind him. He made sure to keep enough distance that it wouldn't be conspicuous, but close enough that he wouldn't accidentally lose the man in a crowd.

Blackmer went into a building that looked like there were offices in them. Rick picked up his pace a bit and went inside the building. He saw what door Blackmer went inside. He remembered Evie saying that not every man who worked at the British Museum had an office inside, many had their offices down the road. This must be Blackmer's. An idea began to form in Rick's head, and his lips curled into a smile. He quickly turned around and left the office building before anyone could see him and ask him what he was doing there. He walked back down the road towards the museum, deciding how best he could pull this idea off. In the meantime, he'd stick to his original intention to meet Evie for lunch.

She greeted him happily with a quick kiss, no longer concerned about who saw them at this point. Rick had to admit it was a lot more relaxing not to have to be hyper vigilant about who was around before showing her any type of affection.

"You have wonderful timing today," she said, putting away her papers. "I just finished with these."

"Does that mean you're done for the day?" Rick asked.

"No," she answered. "I mean, I could be if I wanted to, but that means going home."

"You don't need to avoid home for me," Rick said, feeling guilty.

"I just don't feel like talking to him right now. Once our plans are more sorted I will," Evie said. "Although I have no choice but to be there tomorrow. It's Saturday and I've been reminded that I have to be present for Granny's tea. As if I want to spend my afternoon with her friend. But hopefully it's the last time."

"Yeah, hopefully we can get a move on soon," Rick agreed. "Did you want me to look for any other housing lists? You didn't seem too thrilled with the one we looked at yesterday."

"It was very nice, but somehow just didn't feel right I guess," Evie admitted, not really able to figure out why she hadn't liked the house they'd looked at yesterday. "But we'll have to live somewhere, so I guess we'll keep looking."

Rick nodded, and held out his arm.

"Let's find something to eat," he offered. Evie smiled, and stood up to link her arm with hers.

Rick decided to keep his idea to himself. If he was wrong, or caught, or both, she didn't need to be implicated.

After he saw Evie home that evening, Rick headed back into town after stopping by his rented room for supplies. It was late, but the sun was only just going down, as was typical of an English summer, Evie had told him. He followed the same path he had taken earlier, and sat on a bench across the road from Blackmer's office. He pretended to read a newspaper until it was too dark for that to look realistic and simply waited until he saw Blackmer leave, and lock the door behind him. The building was dark, he must have been the last one to leave.

Perfect.

Rick waited until the man was long down the road before getting up and walking in the opposite direction. He took a loop around a few streets before making his way back. He had made a mistake when he was younger of waiting until someone left and then going right up to the house to break in and been caught. Not this time. He wasn't the most patient man, but he learned from his mistakes.

When he came back the sun had set completely and the street was dark. He pulled the small tool he'd brought with him out of his jacket as he reached the door, and began to pick the lock. It was a sturdy lock, and he fought the urge to curse a few times, as it would draw attention from passersby, but it finally gave and he got inside. He moved towards the door he'd seen Blackmer go through inside. This lock gave way much more easily and in no time, Rick was inside Stuart Blackmer's office.

The man was meticulous. That was Rick's first impression. As he walked around, there was not a loose paper, a left behind glove, nothing out of place. It was immaculately clean and tidy. Rick was glad he'd remembered to wear gloves. There was a large filing cabinet in the far corner, and figuring that was the best place to find what he was looking for, Rick moved towards it and started with the bottom drawer. The files were alphabetized, so he quickly moved to the upper drawers, looking for labels that were related to his search.

'Archeology' gave him nothing; 'Myths' gave him nothing; 'Legends' and 'Egypt' were also dead ends. He thought he'd got in when he found a folder labeled 'Hamunaptra' but even that didn't give him what he was looking at. He gave a frustrated groan that maybe his hunch had been wrong, and slapped the top of the cabinet. But just as he was about to turn away from the files, a folder nestled deep in the back of the top drawer suddenly caught his eye.

'Evelyn,' it read.

If it wasn't there it wouldn't be anywhere. Rick pulled out the folder, which was rather thick and began flipping through it. The article about their discovery was in there, as was the articles about her parents' plane crash. And then he found what he had been looking for. The bulk of the folder was pages and pages of writing done and typed up by Evelyn about the legends of Hamunaptra. They had her signature, and dates of four years prior.

Rick grinned and put all the papers into his bag. He put the folder back and closed all the drawers. He managed to relock both doors on the way out. The street was even darker now and no one stopped to question him or even seemed to notice him as he walked away from Blackmer's office.

Now the question was how to get it to her. He couldn't very well walk up to the house and hope to give it to her. He could wait until Monday when she'd likely be back at the museum again, but he wanted her to have what was rightfully hers.

The answer came unexpectedly in the morning, after he got an envelope to seal the papers in. He was standing on the street corner, debating whether he should just wait or hire a courier service. Then he felt a small body move next to him and then felt his pocket shift.

Instinct took over and Rick grabbed the small hand that had reached into his pocket before the young boy knew what was happening.

"Ah!" the boy yelled as the man's larger hand clamped hard around his wrist. He tried to bolt away but Rick was too strong and he held the boy there.

"Sorry kid, you tried to pick pocket the wrong guy," Rick said.

"Let me go!" the boy said. A girl who was a few years older came running up.

"Jimmy! What are you doing?"

Jimmy didn't answer the girl, who looked a combination of annoyed and frightened.

"He was trying to steal from me. Unfortunately for him, I know all the tricks of pick pocketing. Could have written a book about it."

"Jimmy! I told you not to! Mama will be so upset! Sir, please don't take him to the police, I promise he won't do it again! Will you Jimmy?"

Jimmy did look thoroughly scared at this point. Rick didn't let go yet. The boy reminded him of another young boy who stole out of desperation, and the girl reminded him of sister Bridget. Another idea was forming in his head.

"You start stealing, you might never stop. You do this at the wrong time, to the wrong person, you will go to jail. Even at your age, they'll lock you up. Understand?"

He loosened his grip on the boy's wrist, and Jimmy nodded at him.

"Now, how would you both like to earn some honest money today?" Rick asked, thinking he might have found his delivery service.

Evie spent most of Saturday afternoon tea trying not to yawn. It was exhausting trying to pretend she actually wanted to be there for the sake of her grandmother's friend, Mrs. Calder. Jonathan caught her eye once or twice and she could tell he was looking for any excuse to leave, and was annoyed he hadn't had time to come up with a reason for not being there earlier.

Wilson came through the door at that moment, looking apprehensive.

"My apologies Mr. Carnahan," he addressed her father. "There are two children here with a parcel, and they say they have been instructed to deliver it personally."

Evie perked up with interest, as did everyone else.

"Alright, you can send them in," her father said, curiously.

The children were a boy who was probably around ten, and a girl who looked around twelve. They slowly and shyly walked into the room. Both were looking around the parlor in awe, as though they had never seen anything like it. Evie thought it likely they hadn't.

"Hello, children," her father said in his normal friendly manner. "What are your names?"

"Lily, sir," the girl responded a bit nervously. "Lily Brown, and this is my brother, Jimmy."

"I understand you have a parcel for us?"

"Yes sir," Jimmy said, walking further into the room and showing the large envelope he was carrying.

Then his sister spoke again.

"Well, actually, it's for Miss Evelyn Carnahan," she said, taking her brother's arm. "We were specifically told to give it to her and no one else."

Surprised at hearing her name, Evie slowly stood up.

"That's me," she told the children, approaching them to take the large envelope the boy was carrying. "Who was it that gave this to you?"

"A man down in the village. He gave us each a whole five-pound note to deliver it for him," Jimmy said, handing over the envelope proudly. Evie started opening it while standing, too curious to bother sitting back down. This was nearly a bad decision, because when she saw the contents, she had to grab the back of the chair next to her to keep herself upright.

It was every document she had given Stuart Blackmer nearly four years ago when she was researching the article. Every single one, and they all bore her signature! And the dates she had put on them!

But how had these children come to have them? She had been sure Stuart would have destroyed them, or at least hidden them.

There was only one person she could think of who would have been able to pull this off, and she smiled as she realized what he must have done.

"Evie, darling, what is it?" her father asked, standing up in concern, but she didn't answer. Instead, she turned to the children, who were still waiting.

"You said a man down the road gave you this to bring to me?" she asked.

"Yes Miss," the boy said, his voice getting a more excited tone. "He didn't tell us his name, but he was very nice. He gave us the notes straight away!"

"And," his sister continued, pulling a piece of paper out of her dress pocket, "he said that if we had you sign this paper to prove you'd gotten it, he'd give us another five pounds!" she said the last part very excitedly. "Each!" she added for emphasis as she brandished it for Evie.

"Twenty pounds? That seems very generous for a parcel delivery," Jonathan noted, catching his sister's eye. She gave a small smile back in acknowledgement.

"Yes, one might say overly generous," their father noted, sounding slightly suspicious.

"Well, he obviously wanted to make sure the job was done," Evie said, her smile widening. "Tell you what dears, I'll do you one better. I'll call the car around and drive you back, and we'll go see your mystery man together. I'd actually like to thank him in person."

"This must be a very important parcel," Mrs. Calder remarked, sounding intrigued and hoping for gossip.

"Extremely important," Evie said, putting the papers back in the envelope. "Wilson, please send Gilbert around with the car."

"Right away Miss," the butler said, hurrying off.

"Evelyn dear, I do need Gilbert to take Mrs. Calder and myself home," her grandmother reminded her.

"You'll have the car and the chauffeur back shortly Granny," Evie said. "They did say he was just down the road after all."

Without another word, as she didn't want her father to either try to stop her, or try to come along, she ushered the two children out of the room and towards the driveway.

"Evelyn, what exactly is in there?" her father said as he followed her out.

"Something I thought was long gone," she said as they reached the front door. Gilbert was already driving the car up.

"That's all you want to tell me?"

"Yes," Evie said, simply. "You'll hear the rest at some point, but right now I have to see the man who found these."

"And you know who this man is?" her father asked, his eyebrows raised when she turned to face him.

"Oh, come on Papa, you know which man I'm going to see. And I know him far better than you do," she said, as the doors to the car were opened.

She got in the back, but let the children sit in the front with Gilbert as they seemed enthralled by the large vehicle, and the chauffeur seemed to find it amusing anyway. They had lots of questions about how the whole thing actually worked, which gave Evie plenty of room to think of exactly how Rick had pulled this off. For one thing, where had Stuart even kept the documents where Rick could find them in the first place?

She didn't have to wonder for long, as the children clearly hadn't had to go very far. There he was at the bottom of the hill, standing near the estate entrance. When Gilbert stopped the car, the children hopped out and excitedly pointed to where she was getting out from the back. Rick's face split into a wide grin as she stepped out, and he began to move towards her. She had planned to say something flirty when she got to him but she was too giddy so she simply ran into his arms and kissed him full on the lips, not caring that children or her father's employee were watching them.

"How?" was all she could say when she broke away from. "Where? How?" It was one of the rare times in her life that Evelyn Carnahan had been lost for words.

"Honestly, he made it way to easy," Rick said. "I may have picked the lock at his office and looked through his file cabinets."

"I hope you tidied the place up afterwards," Evie said. "That man was always very orderly."

"Yeah I was having a hard time imagining him being married to a woman who could knock over every bookcase in a library in three seconds," Rick teased her with a grin. She whacked his arm but she was also smiling. "You dodged a bullet there."

"I suppose I did," she said. She turned back to the car. "And I think your two little employees are waiting for the rest of their payment."

"Oh yeah," Rick dug into his pockets and walked back to the car. He took two notes out of his wallet and handed them to the two waiting children. "Thank you both. And that should hopefully help you two out a little."

"Thank you," Jimmy said, sincerely.

"Our mum will be so grateful," Lily said.

"Gilbert," Evie said to the chauffeur. "There's no need for you to wait for me, Mr. O'Connell and I have some business to attend to at the museum. Please drop the children off at home before you go back for my grandmother."

"But Miss," Gilbert said, sounding nervous about the idea.

"Thank you, Gilbert," Evie said more firmly. "If my father asks, you can tell him I was insistent, and I will be home later."

Gilbert reluctantly got back into the drivers' seat after the children clambered back in. As they drove away, Rick took Evie's hand and they made their way back towards the village to get a taxi into town.

"I'm thinking besides a house, next thing we need is our own car so we don't have to do this all the time," Rick said, as they waited.

"That's not a bad idea," Evie agreed.

A car pulled up to take them shortly after and they were soon on their way to the museum.

"Who are you reporting this too?" Rick asked, guessing why they were heading to the British Museum on a Saturday.

"I'll see if Dr. Whitmore might be in today. If not, I'll leave a copy with a note on his desk. He'll know where to start at least."

The museum was very crowded and they had to weave through crowds of visitors to get towards the offices. As they made their way towards the stairs, Evie slowed as she saw Stuart Blackmer coming down.

Her experiences at Hamunaptra had changed her views on things like fate. She was more open to the idea that things happened at a certain time for a reason. And as Stuart entered her line of vision, she felt her mind change course.

Rick realized she wasn't walking as fast as she had been when his arm felt like it was pulling her. He turned and saw her looking thoughtful. He followed her line of vision to where Stuart was walking.

"You want to sneak by him?"

"No," she said, clarity reaching her on what she should do.

She began leading Rick over to the man, who didn't see them at first as he hadn't walked in their direction after exiting the stairway.

"Stuart," she called out from behind. He stopped and turned around, looking surprised to see them.

"Evelyn," he said, almost smiling, except when he saw who she was with. "And Mr. O'Connell. Pleasure to see you."

"You really don't tell the truth about most things, do you?" Rick asked, sarcastically.

"I'm surprised you're still here. I would have thought you'd be below decks on a ship to New York right now."

"Well you thought wrong," Rick said. "You must be used to that by now though."

"You know I could call my friend at the US Embassy and have you deported," Stuart said.

"You won't though," said Evie, crossing her arms. "Because that would be a very bad decision for you."

"I don't see how."

"Because of this," she said, pulling the documents out of her handbag. She didn't hand them to him, but he could see enough.

He sucked in a breath, and was quiet for a minute, as if he was thinking. Then he looked up at Rick, angrily.

"You! You robbed my office."

Rick shrugged.

"Prove it."

"Stuart, know this. If you contact the American authorities and try to have Rick arrested or deported, I will hand these over to the Bembridge Scholars and the Museum board. You and I both know that's the end of your career, and I don't think you want that."

Stuart looked aghast at this pronouncement.

"You wouldn't do that?"

"Wouldn't I? Isn't that why you hid these, and made sure I couldn't prove that you had passed off my research as yours?"

He had no response to that.

"I mean it. If any US authority comes to find him, I will expose you. Silence for silence, that's the exchange here. Am I clear?"

Stuart looked between them, trying to see if there was a loophole, but he could see she was serious.

"So, this is what you want? This is the path you're choosing."

"Without any doubts in my mind," she said. "Good day, Mr. Blackmer."

And with that, she looped arms with Rick once again, and walked away from her former fiancé for what she hoped was the last time.

"Are you sure about this?" Rick asked a few minutes later. "Not reporting him, now that you can prove it?"

"When I saw him, I realized that if I did that, he'd be on the phone to the US Embassy to report your whereabouts the next time he was near a telephone. And my career has already advanced beyond where that article would have taken it, so it won't give me any advantages now," she reasoned. "It's more important for him to keep his mouth shut at this point."

"As long as that's what you want."

"It is," she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

Two days later, Rick grinned as he heard a knock at the door. She was early, but he wasn't complaining. His grin faded when he opened the door. It wasn't Evelyn Carnahan on the other side, but Howard Carnahan.

"Hello O'Connell," the man said, looking apprehensive. "May I come in?"

"Why?" Rick asked, suspicious.

"Because I believe I owe you an apology."

Rick didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't that. Rather dumbfounded, he opened the door a bit wider for the older man and gestured to one of the chairs in the room. Howard removed his hat and sat down, while Rick sat opposite him.

"It was wrong of me to jump to conclusions and not allow you to explain your side of things. Especially considering that, according to my son, you saved my daughter's life. Which means I owe you mine."

"He told you?" Rick asked.

"Yes. I'm sure he thought I'd think him insane, but I know better than most the truth about the Egyptian curses."

"Your wife?"

"Yes. That tomb was cursed, and it brought our plane down as we tried to get out. Laila was killed when we crashed. Sir Gaston and I barely made it out alive ourselves. So, I do believe the story."

The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, before Howard spoke again.

"Well, Evelyn saved my life too," Rick said, deciding if there was any time for honesty it might as well be now. "I'd have died on a noose if it weren't for her."

"But that's not why you saved her," Howard said, knowing it was true. "I can tell that's not why you went back to Hamunaptra to get her back."

"No, it's not," Rick said.

"You love my daughter. That's why," Howard stated. "Otherwise, I don't think you would have given her a very beautiful ring."

Rick hesitated; he was normally the last to actually talk about his own feelings.

"Yes, I do."

Howard nodded.

"I think I suspected a few times," he admitted. "And, I heard what you said to my mother the other day."

Rick was surprised by that, and it showed in his face.

"I stopped by right before you stormed out, and I heard you tell her off."

"Sorry," Rick said.

"Don't be, it's been a long time coming. You said things I should have said a long time ago. I'm only sorry I don't have as much gall to stand up to her sometimes."

"Mrs. Carnahan is a piece of work," Rick said.

Howard nodded.

"Normally I'd be forced to be indignant, but I suppose if you're going to be family you have every right to say that."

He stood up, and Rick did the same.

"If you want, pack your things up, and come back to the house with me. We can sort other things out later," he said, holding out his hand. "And hopefully Evelyn will at least talk to me after this."

Rick nodded, and shook it. Just then, there was another knock on the door. Rick's eyes widened, realizing Evie had arrived, not knowing her father had come to the public house first. Howard noticed and sighed.

"That's her isn't it?"

"Most likely."

Howard chuckled, and moved to the door to open it himself. Sure enough, Evie was on the other side, and she was stunned to see her father.

"Papa," she said after moment. "What are you doing here?"

"I think I should ask you the same thing."

Evie didn't answer right away, so Howard turned from the door so he could address both of them.

"Let me guess, you two have been planning on eloping?"

"Yeah," Rick admitted.

"Essentially," Evie said, looking between the two men curiously. "Though, not today."

"Well, it's not necessary, he's coming back to the house with us. And you can get married properly after some arrangements are made."

Evie's face softened a little.

"And, I'll even wait downstairs for a few minutes while you get ready to leave."

He leaned down to kiss his surprised daughter's cheek as he went downstairs.

"Well that was unexpected," Evie said, moving closer to Rick.

"I guess he came around. Helps that Jonathan apparently told him the whole story of Hamunaptra."

"Everything?"

"Well we didn't rehash all the details, but it sounds like it. And I guess he heard me yell at your grandmother. So, now he wants me around again."

Evie had to chuckle at that one.

"I wish I could have seen her face."

"If you want, I'm sure I can find a reason to yell at her again," Rick said, moving to finish putting his things in his bag. "Seems like when he knew more of the story, he did come around."

Evie nodded.

"I should go and talk to him," she said. "If he can apologize to you, I guess I should do the same."

"I'll come downstairs in a bit," Rick said. Evie kissed him, and then went downstairs to face her father.

He was waiting by the bar area as she walked up to him.

"Rick will just be a few minutes," she said.

"Alright," he said.

They were quiet for a minute.

"You were really going to run away? Was I that bad?"

Evie looked him in the eye.

"I should have just told you the truth from the beginning Papa," she said. "And I am sorry I didn't. I just, I didn't think you'd believe me, and even if you did, I wasn't sure if you'd approve, and I knew if I went public there would be so many implications and that's all exhausting and ridiculous…"

"Like what?" Howard asked, looking confused.

"I didn't want people following us around, and watching our every move. You know what this society is like, probably even more than I do. It's ridiculous, couples can hardly spend any time alone until they're married. That's how it was with Stuart, and quite honestly, I dodged a bullet there, so to speak. It would have been a huge mistake to marry him, but I wouldn't have known because I could only see when he had his best face on. And that was because other people he had to impress were always around. I didn't want that to be what happened with Rick and I. But I am sorry for not being honest."

Howard nodded.

"And I'm sorry for letting your grandmother influence me to jump to conclusions. I don't know what I was thinking. If there's any trouble for Rick with the Embassy, I'll see what I can do. I would still like to know the story behind that report, but I won't have him deported or arrested over it."

"I don't think it'll be a problem now," Evie said. "Stuart found out that I have some information that could destroy his entire career, and when faced with the choice he backed off of Rick."

"What information?" he asked, curious.

Evie hesitated, but it was time for truth all around. She reached into her handbag, where she still had the documents Rick had procured.

"These," she said, handing them over. "It's all the research, and a number of drafts for Stuart's paper on Hamunaptra. The one he published with only his name. But it was actually mine."

Howard flipped through the documents, stunned.

"He…he stole your research?" he breathed out.

"Yes. And at the time, I had no proof of it, so there was nothing I could do."

"That's why you called off your wedding," Howard realized.

"Yes. I couldn't be married to someone who could show me no respect."

"Sounds like something your mother would say."

"It's what she did say," Evie said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "Surely you knew I would have tried to help you?"

Evie took a breath.

"Honestly, I felt stupid that I'd been played for a fool. Especially by someone who I thought I loved. And I didn't want anyone else to know just how stupid I'd been."

"You trusted him and he betrayed you," her father said. "That isn't your fault."

"I know," she said. "But it was too hard to talk about. The other day, I managed to get my hands on these, and I considered turning him in."

"You're not going to?" her father was surprised. "Why not?"

"To protect Rick," Evie explained. "I told Stuart that if he contacted the American authorities, or told anyone else what he knew of Rick's past, I would expose his plagiarism."

"That's admirable of you," her father said. "But are you sure that's what you want? To let the world keep thinking your work is his?"

"It won't make a difference to me now. My career's advanced further than it would have just from that publication anyway."

"I suppose that's true," her father said. "Now, do I want to know exactly how you found the proof?"

At this moment, Rick arrived downstairs with his bag, and Evie simply said,

"No, I don't think you do."

Howard merely nodded, knowingly.

"Well, let's go back to the house, shall we?" he said to both of them. "Rick," he continued, calling his now soon to be son-in-law by his given name for the first time. "I'll have them fix up the room you were in again."

"Thank you," Rick said.

"And I'd prefer if there were no late-night visits, at least not when anyone will see you," he said, giving them a knowing look.

"Papa, remember what we were just talking about?" Evie said, turning red with embarrassment.

"You can let me say it just one time darling," he said, but he was smiling as he led them to the car. He had driven himself, as Gilbert was nowhere to be found. "Now, I believe it's close to dinner time, and I've told your grandmother to come by."

Evie blanched as she sat down in the car.

"Oh God, why?"

"So, you can tell her you're getting married."

Evie looked exasperated, but Rick grinned.

"Sounds like we're in for an entertaining night," Rick turned to Evie.

"Says you," she said to him as her father began driving back towards the house. "She'll make a thing about it."

"I don't know," Howard says. "Your fiancé managed to silence her the other day. I've never seen her so lost for words. I'm hoping I'll see it again."

"Is that the real reason you're letting me come back?" Rick quipped, with a smirk.

"Might be part of it."

"Well, I'll see what I can do," Rick replied.

Evie found herself relaxing as they approached it, knowing that if her father wasn't bothered by Rick talking to his mother that way, there was really nothing to worry about.

Well, hopefully not anyway.


End file.
